College Collage
by ArchaneMemory
Summary: College is the perfect place for Dave Strider to show the world what he's made of. On top of having a complete opposite room-mate, he also finds himself unable to pry away from a stubborn classmate, Karkat Vantas whom he finds himself obsessing over. First person POV. Rated M for Language and future sexiness. DaveKat with hints of possible side pairings.
1. Chapter 1: My name is Dave Strider

**College Collage**

_Author's Note:Please be patient as I'm plugging away at this story in my spare time. This is a Dave/Karkat fanfiction with other subtle pairings here and there along the way as well. Read, review, ect ect ect. J Rated M for language and future possible sexiness._

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**Chapter 1: My Name is Dave Strider  
**

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"Hi! I'm John Egbert… and it looks like we're room-mates!"

Normally I wouldn't complain. As much as I loved being an ironic arsehole to everyone else, I was quite surprised to meet up with my supposed room-mate for my first year of college. John-fucking-Egbert. What kind of a name was Egbert anyways? Not only did he look like a kid, but he certainly acted like one too. Short dark hair, window framed glasses around some seriously nice blue eyes, but the childish overbite was enough to make me cock an eyebrow. This was the kid I was going to be stuck with for the year. He was a good 6 inches shorter than me too. Augh.

Okay, maybe I should start at the beginning. I'm Dave Strider, and today if my first day moving into campus for college. I finished _high school_ well over a year ago now. You know… that place you basically toss your graduation hat and you pretty much say 'thank fuck it's over', only to realize 'shit. Now that fun part, life.' Yeah. It's exactly why I'm late going into college. For starters, I didn't have a blind clue on what the hell I wanted to invest in the form of studying to _figure out what the fuck I was doing with my life_. Too bad being an ironic cool guy didn't pay bills. There definitely aren't any classes on that, and bro pretty much nudged me to hurry up and make a decision. He's also pretty damn ironic and cool. It's a Strider thing, y'know?

No you don't. You're not a Strider. But just try and imagine it for a minute.

Anyway, way off track there. Basically after having an extended vacation from studying, I sucked up the nerve to go looking into future careers. Being a DJ on and off was fun with my bro, but it was competitive, and not really a full time job. So what the actual fuck could I do with my life that would be infinitely awesome and put money in my pocket?

Upon flipping through an agenda my sister had sent me from the college she attended, I found the perfect opportunity for Dave Strider. I would study something I was already damn good at, and pass with flying colors. I would study acting.

Don't laugh. I'm being serious for a change. No. No that wasn't ironic whatsoever. Sigh.

So that was that. I put in my application, the sent me letters of approval, and now here I was, staring at the room-mate I was doomed with and felt the presence of my bro vanish as he called to me with a quick 'good luck' and shut our dorm room door tight behind him. John-Fucking-Egbert. He seemed like kind of a dork. He was going to cramp my style. First day here and I probably got stuck with the dorkiest dork that ever dorked. While I was studying drama, I wasn't a drama queen. More or less I just rolled my shoulders at my misfortune and would push through this like I always had. Dork or not.

The kid was a bit clumsy, so I helped him unpack his stuff. You know, be a bro and all, not matter how much of a nerd he was. Judging by his DVD collection, he was most _definitely_ a nerd. Con Air, Mac and Me, Little Monsters… I kind of stopped paying attention after a bit, keeping my poker face on and my shades covering my eyes to make sure he wouldn't catch me cocking an eyebrow every once in a while at some of the random shit I was putting on the shelves.

"Thanks for helping me unpack, Dave. Sorry I wasn't here earlier to help you too." He spoke up after a few moments. His voice even sounded a bit squeaky to be an adolescent. He sounded like he was just hitting puberty or something.

"Cause that would have been productive." I shrugged to cover the cringe of the posters I was pulling out. Thank Jegus we had our own separate rooms. But even with my sarcasm, Egbert just smiled, putting his clothes away as quickly as he could, and shoving his empty bags in his closet. He stretched, then plopped down on his bed, watching as I pulled out one of his books and stared at it for a moment. I raised it a bit and looked to him, cocking an eyebrow in confusion. "Colonel Sassacre?" I asked, not really sure how to respond to finding this old book in such good shape. Almost like it was a special bible or something.

And judging by the way Egbert was beaming, it was like his bible. He quickly snatched the book and ran his hand over the cover, then smiled at me again. I really shouldn't have been confused… he was like my complete opposite, or at least seemed like it. He was quiet for a moment, and then held the book up proudly. "This was left for me by my grandmother. She was an amazing prankster, and I followed suit most of my life. Now I guess I wanted to step it up a notch and… I guess you could say this was the thing that brought me here."

"Did it drag you? How awful, man. You should show it whose boss."

John laughed. "Not PHYSICALLY, but it inspired me to come here. I guess I decided that I really wanted to be a comedian. Making people laugh is about the best thing you can do for them!" he continued to beam, but his eyes fell to his book again before carefully laying it to rest on his nightstand. I was still confused as hell how there would be such a course as 'Comedy Studies'. The class must be a handful. I could only imagine what the poor professors had to put up with every year by pranking students. Or maybe it was the students getting pranked by the professors. Hm. Either way, John would probably tell me.

Even though he was a dork, I had to put up with him, and it was best if I befriended him at least a little to avoid any room-mate strife in the future. I motioned my head towards the kitchen/living area, watching as the dark haired teen blinked at me. "I got some pizza and apple juice in the fridge in your hungry. We can shoot the shit and put any room mate rules in place to make sure we don't go pissing one another off."

Egbert beamed, and fled to the kitchen, faster than I cared to go. We conversed over re-heated pizza and apple juice for the next while at the kitchen table, getting to know more about this kid. I kept my biography short, only letting him know what I wanted him to know and set my rules in place. Don't touch my swords or music, don't touch my hair products and no crazy ass pranks taking place in the dorm that could cause us to get kicked out. Unsurprisingly, Egbert took a bit to even think if he had any rules, and all he basically came up with was not ruin his stuff. Not that I ever intended to even go through his stuff. He was pretty easy going anyways.

Of course, as much as I would love to spend _every waking moment_ with my new _awesome_ room-mate, I had to make a break for it. Get some fresh air, meet new blood, see the other cool kids and so on. With a stretch, I stood up, sauntering over to the door and shoving my shoes on. "Welp, as much fun as it has been to shoot the shit with you Egbert-"

"You can call me John you know." He interrupted with that toothy smile.

"- I need to stretch my legs and explore. We've got the whole year to drive each other crazy, so let's not get right to it right away, alright?" John laughed again. Honestly, I couldn't tell myself if I was being serious or sarcastic. He was tolerable, but I've only known him, what, an hour? It was hard to say if he was going to drive me nuts or not from this point in time. Before I could get my pale ass out the door, the kid jumped up from his seat a bit, uttering a small grunt. He sounded unsure whether or not he wanted to stop me or let me go. Once more, I turned to look at him, grasping the door handle, before offering a grin to the blue eyed boy. "Something else?"

John fidgeted on the spot a bit for a minute, before straightening out his back and gave a nervous smile. "I was just wondering if you were going to Frosh Week is all."

Frosh week, huh? Sounded pretty lame if you asked me. Teenagers doing a bunch of stupid shit to get to know each other, and it was usually pretty fucking messy. I remember Rose telling me just how _wonderful_ her experience was with it. I had nightmares about how awful the tequila, Tabasco sauce, oatmeal and cherry juice shots were. Internally I grimaced at the thought, but kept my poker face on the entire time so John couldn't see how much I hated the idea of attending the stupid charade. "Didn't really plan on it. Not really something I circled on my non-existing calendar, if you catch my drift."

"Oh." He said, sounding a bit disappointed. Probably wanted someone he was semi-familiar with to hang around. I'd be damned if I had the campus see me hanging out with, quote on quote, 'the dorkiest dork that ever dorked.' He was silent for a minute before smiling again, relaxing himself before laughing a bit. "Alright, that's cool I guess." Of course it was. Not making yourself looked like an idiot made sure you stayed looking cool. Rule 1, baby. A different rulebook compared to the room-mate rule book, by the way. "I'll just have to drag my sister along. I'm sure she'll have a blast!"

"That and then some." I nodded, all too sure there would be lots of blasting going on. "My sister made it very clear that Frosh week is an unforgettable experience. So live it up and make a name for yourself here Egbert."

"It's John." He laughed again, waving to me as I turned and exited the room. A breath of fresh air, to say the least. While he wasn't annoying, we were definitely two very different people, and it would take some getting used to compared to living at home with Bro. As long as I wasn't made to watch those incredibly shitty movies with him, then I could probably tolerate him. However it was going to be frustrating for the kid to live with me. A comedian and an actor rooming together. It would be interesting to see if John would have what it took to break my poker face and make me laugh. Seemed like a challenge, but one I was pretty sure I would win. I was a Strider after all.

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For the most part, I wandered aimlessly for a while, always scanning other student, but never starting a conversation. In fact, I hadn't talked to a single person yet aside from my new room-mate. It probably didn't help that I hid my eyes behind my shades, but my eyes tended to freak people the fuck out. Red eyes weren't exactly normal. Mixed with pale skin and white blonde hair, apparently it meant I had some sort of Albino gene. Sunburn easily, eye pigment bullshit. My Bro Dirk had it as well, except his eyes were more of an orange and a bit more easily passed off as Amber or light brown. So the shades stayed on, just so people wouldn't spout demon nonsense or shit about in-breeding. Yeah, I heard that one before too. What the actual fuck, people?

After said aimless walking, I managed to plunk my ass down on the nearest bench and just survey passerby's. Had to keep it cool, but it would be nice to meet someone that was on a closer social level as me. Not that John was a terrible person, he just wasn't someone I'd hang out with at the nearest rave. I doubt John even knew what a rave was and if he did, he probably had never been to one.

While being lost in my thoughts, I never even noticed someone approaching me, and only snapped out of it when my leg was bumped by... a cane? Looking up, I noticed a girl with dark hair and a pretty sweet set of red shades over her eyes looking down at me with probably the cockiest grin I'd seen all day. "You look a bit lonely, cool kid. Mind if I make myself comfortable?" she laughed, showing a toothy grin.

She wore a female fit black t-shirt, worn black jeans and a pair of red running shoes. Not exactly overly trendy, but she seemed to have a pleasant attitude, so I grinned at her, sliding sideways on the bench. "That could take some serious effort." I joked.

She laughed in response, plunking herself down next to me, half turning on the seat to face me and carelessly setting her red and white cane aside. "Well you looked comfortable enough and you have a bonier ass than I do." She cackled wickedly.

I couldn't help but grin a bit more, turning sideways on the seat a bit and hanging my arm over the back of the bench to smirk at her. "You're checking out my ass while I'm sitting down? That's gotta be some feat for someone who is pretending to be blind." I jabbed, but couldn't help but wonder what was with that charade. She obviously saw me, but the shades and cane one would think she was a bat, having to yell at things in order to know something was in front of them. Or you know, prod it with the stick. Whatever was most appropriate these days.

"Oh, but I am blind." She grinned, folding her fingers together as if this was something to be proud of.

"I'm going to call bullshit on this one." Much to my surprise, she grinned and lifted her hand to her shades, pulling them down the bridge of her nose revealing quite the pair of teal colored eyes. But much to my surprise they had that cloudy look to them, like someone spilled milk over the color. However, her irises were pointed right at me and not just straight as most blind people seemed to have that dazed look and only ever looked straight ahead of them. I snapped my fingers and waved them back and forth, and of course, her eyes followed. "Contacts?" I asked, still wondering what the deal was with this whole charade of pretending to be blind.

"No, it's genuine." She grinned, pushing the shades back up and leaning back on the seat a bit. "Just not 100% blind yet."

"Well that's a pocket full of sunshine." Nice way to start a conversation. Not cool, and not Strider-like.

However, she didn't seem bothered by it as she waved her hand carelessly, keeping that same grin on her face. "It's no sob story. Just glad I managed to find this hot piece of ass sitting over here by his lonesome while I still have some of it." She cackled again.

"I get that often."

"Aren't you a cocky bastard?"

"Could say the same, you realize."

She grinned again, pointing her eyebrows downwards as she studied me, but I kept calm the entire time, just reflecting a small grin at her. She finally extended her hand, for once looking as if she was serious about what she had to say. "I'm Terezi Pyrope."

"Odd name." I jabbed.

"Should I just continue to call you Cool Kid?"

"Tch. That sounds kinda lame. Dave Strider." I said, reaching out and shaking her hand finally. Only 2 hours on campus ad I already met someone who didn't seem to clash with my personality. Things were looking pretty fucking golden. Upon further conversation with Tez, I come to find out she's also in her first year here, taking some sort of compressed course of Law. Apparently getting in a few years of college beforehand covered most of the basic courses which would allow her to transfer to university or something along those lines, but this method was cheaper than going straight to something like Harvard fucking Law. It was hard to imagine her as a lawyer, but I'd pay to see her run a case. It'd be quite a show, I think.

Good times aren't meant to last I don't think. After a long ass conversation over why Red is probably the coolest color in existence, Terezi asked me a question I didn't want to hear again today. "So, Frosh Week. You in, Cool Kid?"

"I thought we were dropping the 'cool kid name'. And No. I'm out. I'm way out." I muttered, glancing away. What was with all these guys wanting to get into Frosh Week?

"Aw. Don't be like that Dave. We'd make a sexy team!"

"Nope."

"Think of the bullshit we could accomplish. We probably have the skills and definitely the social status to one-up these other bags of trash here."

"Not happening."

"Scared a half blind girl is going to beat you?"

"Excuse me?" I grunted. Was she really trying to jab at my competitive side? I was ironic, not competitive.

"You're pussying out because you don't want to be humiliated by a girl… a **blind** girl beating you."

Another grunt. "Oh, that's it. I thought it was me simply not giving a shit."

She bit the inside of her lip for only a second, before grinning again. "But all of the cool kids join Frosh Week. I thought you were a cool kid, _Striiiider_?" she slurred.

"Frosh week is bullshit." I spat.

"You know you _waaaaaaaaaant_ to~"

"I really don't."

"Are you being ironic?"

"No, I'm being fucking serious."

"**Laaaaame**."

"It really is." I insisted. It was getting really bothersome arguing with her. However, after a weird moment of awkward silence, she finally grabbed her cane and stood up. I watched her, but didn't dare move a muscle. I honestly didn't want her to leave. We clicked pretty damn well. But honestly it looked like she was going to bail. She wasn't going to be a whiny bitch and bail, was she?

"Welp, I WAS going to introduce you to my group of incredibly cool 'bros' and thought we could all hang together at the Frosh week after party after our STUNNING victory, but I guess there's just no more room for cool kids."

I shrugged. "If you see it that way."

"You asshole." She growled, grabbing my arm and pulling me to my feet. I stumbled only for a minute but held my ground after she drug me a few paces away. She stopped and glanced over her shoulder at me, giving the angriest pout I'd seen in ages. I didn't think she'd be able to make such a face, but it wasn't changing my mind.

"Do you honestly know how much of a pain in the ass this is? It's like, self induced vomiting where you do stupid shit you regret seconds after you've done it on public display and video cameras. It's not ironic, it's not cool, it's just a waste of time."

Terezi turned to me, crossing her arms over her much less than robust chest, cocking an eyebrow. "Being cool doesn't mean walking around with a stick up your ass and not having a bit of fun. Don't knock it until you try it. Like I said, almost everyone is going to be there. What better way to make yourself stand out than to get in there and show everyone you're not a pitiful asshole?"

"What makes you think people think that about me?"

"Did anyone else approach you while you sat there looking like you didn't want to be bothered? Not being able to see your expression doesn't help you know. You look broody."

Broody? Really? These kick ass shades made me look like some emo-tastic moron? I was hardly dressed like some depressed goth kid. But fuck, she had a stupid round-about point that I didn't want to admit. This was freedom for most of the people here, no parents and all that shit. It was about parties, acting like complete animals, sex and all that other fun stuff. Still, it wasn't really something I wanted to get involved in. I could always make an appearance at a party and-

Before my train of thought could continue, a familiar head of hair caught my attention on the other side of the hallway which made me freeze. White blonde hair, violet eyes, and black lipstick. Oh hell, it was Lalonde. If she saw me, I wouldn't have to worry about Frosh Week. I'd have to worry about what the hell she'd say about other shit I'd done that was far more stupid once upon a time just to force me to go.

"Fine." I snapped quickly, grabbing Terezi's wrist and pulling her towards the courtyard. Rose was heading the other way, while we were going with most of the crowd. She didn't seem to notice me, thank fuck. I'd deal with her later. "Let's just get this shit over with and make people wonder how the hell we can snort Tabasco and oatmeal."

Terezi cackled in victory, grinning from ear to ear as she kept pace with me. "Sounds like a challenge. I like it!"

Little did I know at that moment that choosing to attend this silly teenage gathering of idiots would actually be a kick-start to something new. As Terezi promised, I would meet her friends, but I would eventually find something more than just a friend in one of these particular people.

_I was about to find something to __**obsess**__ over._

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_Okay, that's it for now. I know technically not a lot happened just yet, but wanted to get a few important introductions out of the way, and this chapter is long enough as it is. Next we can meet a few of Terezi's friends and of course this new obsession. Read/Review! 3 Looove~_


	2. Chapter 2: Team 17

_And here I'm back with Chapter 2. I would have written more last night, however time and sleep is oh so amazing. I also apologise ahead of time. This is a long chapter but not a whole hell of a lot happens. You get to meet some new faces, one I'm sure you want to see, and kick off the start of Frosh Week. Anyways, I hope you enjoy! ~3_

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**Chapter 2: Team 17**

I felt pretty stupid standing around and waiting to sign up to embarrass myself, but at the same time, if I could handle it better than Rose did, maybe it'd get her to stop trying to prod at me. She never meant any real harm by shoving her nose into what is my actual business, however she did like to get in and make jabs. She was kinda big on the irony too, but had her own way of using it. I personally would just rather her not have something to blackmail me with down the road. Such is the life of having a sister. It meant you didn't really get your way all of the time. Maybe her poking at me was mostly cause Bro and I were tight knit, but she was the only sister. Who really knew? It wasn't that I didn't like her, but I lived with her long enough to want a little distance. Now that we were at the same school too, I was wondering if applying here was such a hot idea.

Ah well. I'd deal with it.

I glanced around as I waited by the building, Terezi had already taken my name and tossed it into the lottery box. Apparently they were drawing names for form teams, and we couldn't choose our own teams. Lame. I suppose the whole point of Frosh/Orientation week was to mingle and meet new people, not the ones you already know. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad after all. Still, after she tossed our names in, she asked me to wait right here, she had to go find a few of her friends that had also joined and couldn't fucking wait to introduce them to me. Before I could make some witty retort, she ran off, left me standing here to chill.

And oddly enough, for the first time while being completely surrounded, I felt kind of alone. Red hues gazed through my shades around at all of the people around me, and it seemed like everyone at least knew someone. I had only met my room-mate and Terezi so far, and was starting to feel a little small. Maybe she was right. Maybe I did look unapproachable. The fact that I poker faced everything probably didn't really help, but then again, I didn't want EVERYONE wanting a piece of Dave Strider. Nope. That would just be awkward as hell. It was hard to choose: have a select few acquaintances, or have a fuck-ton of them and be smothered?

I ground my teeth and looked up at the blinding sun, silently cursing the warm day. I wasn't really dressed for outside either. A red and white top with a broken record on it, long sleeved and black jeans. People probably thought I was crazy having sleeves in the warmth, but being albino made you something of a lobster when others would lightly tan. Red was a pretty sweet color, but not _that _sweet.

"Dave…?" a familiar voice came from next to me, probably a good three feet away. I exhaled a breath I didn't know I was holding and rolled my head back against the wall. I didn't even have to look to know it was my room-mate.

"Sup John?" I replied, shoving my hands in my pockets, and turning my head to look at the shorter boy. It was only then that I realized there was someone with him. In fact, she looked pretty damn identical to him. Long hair down to the middle of her back, the same dark color as John's, dressed in a short sleeved top and long dark skirt. She had rounded glasses over bright green eyes that sat on her cute, rounded face. She looked much like her brother, but cuter, and not so much like a dork. I resisted the temptation to look over my shade and simply lifted a brow. "You have company." I stated.

John blinked, and looked at the girl next to him, who reflected the movement, then both smiled back towards me. "Ah, well. This is my sister, Jade."

"John and Jade? Interesting." Parents of our own generation must have loved four letter names and trying to give their children names that started with the same letters. John and Jade, Dave and Dirk. Rose was the odd one out. I could only imagine it was because they couldn't think of a four letter name for a girl that started with a D. I stood up straight and grinned however as Jade held her hand out to me. I took it and gave it a firm shake, but her grip was loose. She seemed a bit shy. It was kinda cute. Not flirty kind of cute, but if I were one of those old ladies, I'd pinch her cheeks kinda cute. Which when that happens, it's not cute at all. Okay, a little cute, but not really my type. At least I didn't get that vibe off of her.

"John was telling me that you're his room-mate?"

"Something along those lines, yeah." I smirked at her, and heard John laugh. He was good humored anyways. He didn't seem to take anything at heart. Which I guess worked out perfectly cause I could be a sarcastic asshole. Jade seemed to also grin a bit at this. However when she pulled her hand away, I noticed there were little elastic bands around her fingers in all sorts of different colors. Again I stood baffled and peered down at her hands, inspecting her fingers and wondering what in the name of Jegus I was looking at. "Fashion statement?" I asked gesturing to her palms.

"Ah!" she looked down at her fingers, then scratched the side of her cheek, again with the cuteness. She chuckled a bit before pointing a few of them. "Class registration in two hours." She said, pointing to a brown one. "5:00pm, pick up books necessary to properly attend my classes and study." A light blue one. Finally she motioned at a bright yellow one, smiling from ear to ear. "This one is now. Frosh Competitions. They're reminders, so I don't forget important things."

I gave a low whistle. Elastic bands were reminders. I had no idea how that worked. Maybe she associated each of those events with the colors or something? "To me it looked more like you were putting on a rave for the ladybugs. Party in Jade's palm, or something." I heard her snicker, but a redness crept up into her cheeks. "Can you use the reminders to help you cheat on your tests? That'd be kinda sweet."

Jade stood still suddenly with a dumbfounded look on her face. She must have thought I was being serious and calling her a cheater or something. I rolled my shoulders and was about to tell her to relax, but John piped up first. "Don't mind Dave. He's kind of ironic. He's not really accusing you of anything, I don't think."

"Smartass." He simply laughed as I grinned at him.

"GET YOUR FUCKING HANDS **_OFF_** OF ME TEREZI!" came a screech from not too far away. Of course, the familiarity of the name was enough to make me look, but the shouting was enough to draw plenty of attention to a guy who was struggling against the half blind chick, who continued to simply cackle like she had some sort of an evil plot going. I watched as a figure came through the crowd, being shoved roughly and stumbling to catch his balance, only to turn back and glare at the girl who pushed him there. He had short hair that flared out in several directions, almost as if it was natural that way, not that that he simply didn't brush it. It was black- no. Not exactly black. It looked to have a few flecks of auburn highlights in it that caught the sun. He was probably glaring towards Terezi in rage and he too looked like he was overdressed for the warm day. He had a medium heavy black sweater about a size too big for him and grey skinny jeans, a look that was meant to be 'conservative'. But judging by his mouth, he was _anything_ but.

"Well I got you this far. You can't really refuse now!" Terezi laughed, giving him another shove towards us. His back was to us at this point, so I couldn't quite see his face.

"Oh, like HELL I can't refuse! I can refuse if I fucking well want to! And look at this! I'm refusing!" he snarled, moving towards her, only to have her brace his shoulders and attempt to push him back.

"Nope! Denied! Already put your name in the lottery., You're in whether you like it or not!"

"**_REALLY!?_** Are you **_THAT_** childish, Tez!?"

"Nope! Just damn determined!" she cackled, but slid back. The guy was obviously stronger than her, and was finally making a real effort to push her back. This was Terezi's friend? I adjusted my shades, wondering if I was really seeing the scene correctly, but it was definitely not some sort of illusion. She really was trying to push some sort of raging asshole towards us. Why the fuck did I want to associate with someone so… loud? It was kind of annoying. Her gaze lifted as she noticed me standing a good ten feet away from them, with John and Jade just as dumbstruck as I was at the situation unfolding. "_Daaaaaaaaaaaaaave_~ a little help?"

Shrug. Why not? He was making himself out to look like an idiot by the scene he was causing, why not put him in his place? Just as I heard him say 'what?', I rushed forward, years of strife with a sword happy bro made this a breeze. And before the guy could react or jerk away from Terezi, I was behind him, mouth by his ear, grinning like some psychopath that just got his prey. "I think someone needs to calm the fuck down." I cooed. The dark haired guy turned his head back to find out who just ninja snuck up on him, but wasn't quick enough to dodge my attack. Before he knew what was happening, he was on the ground, back to where I was standing before, and I was left victorious.

Ehem. Yeah. Admittedly, it sounded more epic than it really was. When I say 'my attack', I really meant bear-hug-of-fucking-doom. His arms were kind of locked at his side under my own, so when I lifted him from the ground he was stuck yelping curse words a priest would cry at. When I say 'before he knew it', well it did take a moment, I'll be honest. He was shorter, but not exactly light and I'm not exactly a body builder. He just had no idea who I was or what the fuck I was doing to him. Though it was amusing to swing him around in circles as I carefully made my way back to John and Jade and mutter nonsense into his ear. Said nonsense was so far lost under the deafening sounds of him cursing up a storm. And when I say victorious, dropping his ass on the ground in front of the siblings and having Terezi slap my on the back, well it felt like a feat. Hell, it was a bit. Like I said, I'm a bit scrawny, so lifting someone like that and carrying them WHILE swinging them like a rag doll wasn't exactly and easy thing to do.

Still felt fucking awesome to land someone on their ass and oh my hell, he shut up for a minute.

Upon this realization, I noticed he was staring up at me. He first stared at me dumbfounded, and it slowly turned into a glare of a lifetime. Now that I could see his face, there was something interesting about it. His skin was light, but not nearly as light as mine, and his eyes, though I could have sworn they were brown, I could see flecks of amber and red in them as well. It kind of left me speechless at first. They were different, like mine. However, he was clearly not albino like I was either. I'd never seen a mix like that before, so I couldn't even say something sarcastic as I studied his face like I originally planned to.

That was until his mouth flew open again, then I snapped back to reality. "And who the fuck do you think **_YOU_** are, Fuckass?"

I shrugged in response, not feeling any particular reason to be nice to this guy, he was annoying as hell. But if he wanted to be a loudmouthed asshole, I could easily be an ironic one. "Apparently the guy who just dropped you on your ass. Some call me the Ass Master, but you can call me **_Master_**. I can see you're all sorts of special."

He grunted and stood up, being sure to push his face close to mine and squint those eyes at me. He was enraged, I could see it there. I simply painted on my poker-face and cocked an eyebrow at him. Did he think he could intimidate me? Fat chance. "You think that was cool or something you pathetic excuse for fuckwit hipster douchebag!?" He was mixing insults together with provocative swearing. How cute. I couldn't help but smirk at him as he tried to piss me off, but failing miserably in the process.

"Sorry, what was that? All I could hear was that annoying Charlie Brown teacher. Mwar Mwar Mwar Blah blah." The way his cheeks flared up was kind of hilarious. He was ready to have a screeching fit of a lifetime until I decided that annoying him was fun. Like really fun. With a smirk, I wrapped an arm tight around his neck, getting him in a headlock as I tries to straighten out his ridiculous hairstyle, but roping him around in the process. "Aw sorry dude. No hard feelings and all that shit. Here, let me be a bro and fix your hair."

Terezi laughed, falling against the building and holding her sides. This must have been gold to her. He hissed as he struggled to get loose from my lock, then batted at my hands furiously to get me to stop touching him. "Don't fucking touch me, dickwad! Get your filthy hipster hands OUT of my hair! You're making a fucking scene!"

**_I_** was making a scene. Cute. "No no! Once this shit is started, you just don't stop it! You go all the way man! _Allll the way_!" I purred as I continued to mess with this guy, which seemed to fluster him even more. His hair was soft, even though it was now a tangled mess from my assault. He was trying to speak so fast he kept tripping up over his words and I wouldn't be surprised if he bit his tongue at least once during the whole ordeal.

Eventually I got dizzy and simply dropped on the ground, pulling the dark haired annoyance down with me. Surprisingly, I felt myself chuckle. This guy was a riot. I let him go only to watch him struggle to sit up properly and send the harshest glare in my direction that I ever received. He opened his mouth to start another bitchfest, but I just smirk, cocking my head to the side as I used my hand to make the chattering mouth gesture. He was fuming, and it was so unbelievably hilarious. "You REALLY think you're a fucking smart ass, don't you?" he grumbled as my hand opened and closed to mimic him and I mumbled stupid jargon to drown him out. It was glorious to watch his fists shake, he was mad, but above all the rosiness in his cheeks made me wonder if he was embarrassed, or enjoying to attention he probably didn't get very often. I could see him as the kind of guy people blew off because of his arrogance. So why not just be a smartass right back? Not to mention it was fun.

"Haha, fuck me sideways! I didn't think you two would hit it off THIS good!" Terezi laughed, hunched over and holding her side. Her shades were slipping off her nose, but she didn't seem to care. Air seemed like a more important thing to her now. You know, cause she couldn't breathe between her chuckles.

"What can I say? We seem to be all sorts of special." I said, shrugging and ignoring any onlookers as they questioned what the fuck kind of drugs we were on.

"Yeah, we're off to a REAL fucking peachy start." The guy grumbled, crossing his arms tightly across his chest and first glaring at Tez, then back at me as I hid my 'talking hand and looked away, pretending to me more interested in the weather. I could easily watch him from the corner of my eye though with my shades. He could only see his reflection in them, but I could see clear as day. Another wonderful thing about them. They just got points all around.

Terezi finally collected herself and walked over, flopping down on the ground between us. I simply grinned as she reached to hook her arm around my neck and put me in a headlock, pulling me close to her- hello B cup- and held me there tightly. She did the same to the other guy, who again sputtered ridiculousness and finally stopped, exchanging glares between Me and Tez. Every time he looked at her, I'd make some sort of a face at him. It was amusing to get a rise out of him. I think I could enjoy his company. Though he might not like me so much.

"I DRAGGED you here so you could meet my new bud. Though I'm just learning the 'Ass Master' part-"

"Oh. You can call me master too, if you want. I don't mind." I grinned, feeling a little warm and being pressed up against the soft cushy-ness that she was oh so kind to put me into. She simply rolled her eyes and continued.

"- he'll be hanging out with us from now on."

"Oh, you have got to be fucking kidding me. I'm out, Tez!" he grumbled, struggling against her, but found no freedom to get away. He grumbled again, attempting to tickle her but found that sadly she was apparently not ticklish. Another defeat for the loudmouth.

"You aren't and you know **DAMN** well you're not. I refuse to let you go until you two shake hands and properly introduce yourselves. And I know how much you** hate** physical contact, Kar~"

I was about to make some witty remark about how I was insulted that she didn't think it was proper for me to greet him that way, that it was perfectly acceptable in my culture. However, did she just call him… _car_? Like '_vroom vroom mother fucker'_? Curiosity was getting the better of me, so maybe it was time to start playing it cool. I simply smirked and looked across the hill on front of me at 'car' and extended a hand. It was hard to pinpoint what kind of a face he was making. Something between surprised, what the fuck are you doing, and fuck you. "Well, I know as much as I love the view, I can't stay here all day, so might as well be civil and get it over-with. I'm Dave Strider."

I heard him release a frustrated breath after a moment of silence, then finally reached out, not without hesitation and grabbing my hand, giving it a tight handshake. Haha. I could feel his heart racing. He was either insanely nervous or insanely pissed. I was willing to bet my college degree on pissed. "Karkat Vantas." He grumbled, refusing to make eye contact.

I gave a low whistle as Terezi finally let us go, sitting up straight. "Oh! So it's more like 'vroom vroom motherfucking hiss?'" And she lost it again. Karkat sneered and tried to snatch his hand away again, but I refused to let go. It was far too fun to just up and give up like that.

"Let go!"

"Nooo. We're like bros now. I can't let go of a bro!"

"Stop fucking touching me, you immature twat!"

"Broooo, nooooo. You don't call you bro 'twat' You call him bro. Just like that. Brooooo."

"I'm going to fucking tear you apart you cuntlicking dipshit!" The rise out of him was so awesome, so I finally let go and rose my hands in faux defeat. He hissed and stood up, backing away from me like I was some sort of disease. I'd lay off of him for a while, but he didn't run, and he wasn't killing me, so maybe he really did enjoy the attention I gave him. It was hard to tell. He grunted and turned suddenly, stopping to see John and Jade. His expression changed automatically when they stared at each other, then finally there was a look on his face I could understand from the get go.

Horrified.

"Oh Fuck." Was all he grunted before my room-mate practically jumped into his arms and hugged him, Karkat barely able to keep his footing.

"Haha! Hi Karkat! I didn't know you were coming to this school! When did you get here? What are you taking? Ha! I'm so happy to see you here!" he spurted, but the slightly taller boy simply groaned.

"J-John! Please don't…" Jade started as she twiddled her multicolored fingers together full of reminders. John finally let go and gave that goofy, childish grin. Karkat simply stood with his shoulder slumped, looking utterly defeated.

"John. Jade." He finally grumbled.

I was about to ask how they all knew each other already, but Terezi seemed to catch me in one of those rare moments where I looked confused as fuck and answered before I could ask. "We all went to High School together. John and Jade moved to town in 10th grade, while I met Karkles in 7th and we were in the same class all the way through."

"Weird reunion. You must have known you were all going to the same school together." I mumbled, staring at the moping ex-loudmouth.

"Oh I knew, Karkat can't hide shit from me! But apparently he never told John and Jade where he was attending."

"You said you weren't going to college!" John pouted a bit.

"I didn't fucking plan to." Karkat grumbled again.

Before we could continue our conversation, we heard one of the Frosh leaders shouting in a megaphone that they were going to announce the teams. Apparently in teams of 4, two boys and two girls. I simply sighed and finally stood up from the ground, dusting myself off and leaning against the building again. "We're so going to be teamed up!" Terezi chatted excitedly beside me.

"You realize the chances of that are like 1 to something in a few hundred? Cause there's like a few hundred people here or something. It's not going to happen."

"Team 17, Jade Harley, and Vriska Serket for the girls!"

Jade sighed sadly at her name being called, and then gave a small shrug. "Oh well, at least I'll get to meet someone new! That's the whole point of Frosh week isn't it?" she laughed.

"I'm sure you'll have a smashing good time, sis." John smiled at her and patting her back. "I wonder which guys will be on your team?" he mumbled nervously. Jade simply fidgeted and looked away, that cute rosiness back in her cheeks.

"And the boys for team 17…. Dave Strider and Karkat Vantas!"

Karkat's jaw unhinged and looked as if he were going to be sick. I simply blinked a few times, and glanced over at him, watching how Jade's face lit up behind him at the mention of us being in her team. Frosh week was about getting to know new people, huh? It seemed like Karkat and I were about to get to know each other a HELL of a lot better.

* * *

_Okay! That's a wrap for Chapter 2. Chapter 3 will have more fun in it as I'm SURE you can probably guess. Sorry that not much happened. I had a lot more in store for this chapter, but I just found this seemed to be a good place to end an already long chapter. Chapter 3 soon to come, hope you enjoyed! ~3_


	3. Chapter 3: Game On

_Hey Guys! Sorry this update took a bit longer than the other one. For starters, I've been working a long stretch at my job, and sleeping in is becoming a regular thing, and by the time I get home late at night, I'm too burnt out to write. Also noticed a LOT of spelling and grammar errors in the last chapter cause I wrote half of it sleep drunk. Haha. This will be fixed for a smoother running story of course. Secondly, I'm packing up to move. I'm not moving far, but going from having a private bedroom in a big house to an open bedroom with three room-mates and three animals is going to be a change in life for sure. Updates may be a bit slower, but I do promise they will come. _

_Long intro is long! I apologize! But the chapter is longer too! This chapter is more or less hilarity and you know. Stupid shit you do in college when you first get there. Thankfully I can say my Frosh week was not as frightening or as extreme as some places. However, I'm sure Karkat and Dave will find the experience… pleasant. Muahaha. Enjoy Chapter 3!_

* * *

**Chapter 3: Game On**

* * *

"Oh no. Oh **_FUCK no_**!" Karkat hissed dangerously. It seemed like I was right on the money when I thought of the name being 'vroom vroom motherfucking hiss'. Karkat... Karkitty. Hmm. Karkitten. Heh. Now that was adorable. I had all the time in the world to fuck with his name and get under his skin. He seemed to blow a head gasket at the slightest things. Part of me wondered why there was a stick shoved so far up his ass, while the other part of me wondered how many Advil he choked on in a day to drown out the headaches of his own screaming. I simply stared at him as he grunted and stepped forward, shoving some poor girl out of the way. "I demand a re-draw! This was rigged! I'm NOT being on the same team as this fucking asshole!"

"Ohhhh no you don't!" Terezi grinned, hooking him from behind under the arms to hold him in place. He struggled and started cursing like a sailor, trying his damnedest to get out of her grip. With a sigh, I simply nodded at the Frosh Week Coordinators, giving them a thumbs up to say I approved of this team, to which Karkat continued to screech like a pissed off banshee.

My eyes quickly went to Jade who seemed to be glancing around wildly. That's right. There was a fourth member to the team, the other female player that apparently none of us knew. Vriska… another odd name. Parents of our generation clearly thought they'd make much too boring names, or much too different. Sigh. Considering none of us even knew what she looked like, we had no clue what to look for. Vriska… Vriska Vriska Vriska… "I wonder if I should go look for her…" Jade mumbled as she fidgeted on the spot. She was kinda shy. It was cute.

"Nah." I muttered, rolling my shoulders. Jade's eyes turned my way, glazed with curiosity as I spoke. I jerked my head towards the jerk I was paired with, shoving my hands in my pockets. "Everybody and their dog heard him take a shit fit at us being on the same team, it's a clear siren for Serket to come find us. No way she could miss us."

"Starting to wish I could. Jegus." Came a voice from right behind us. Both Jade and I jolted a little and glanced back at the girl behind us. She was almost my height, and seemed to have this punk look to her. Long black hair with cobalt highlights, her eyes to match them, and oval shaped glasses over them. Unlike on John and Jade where it looked childish and perhaps even dorky to be wearing glasses, she pulled it off in a way that didn't make you right out and say 'nerd'. Jane's didn't either, but it did scream 'I'm cute'. She wore a grey denim jacket over a black t-shirt and some worn, tattered denim jeans. She looked spunky, like she had an attitude, but she was grinning from ear to ear. "He was talking about you being an asshole. Can't say I'm not relieved that he won't be my partner."

"Wait what?" I mumbled, glancing over my shoulder and trying to make sure my shades stayed up. Jade also blinked in confusion. Shit. I thought maybe this would be co-ed and I would get paired off with this Vriska chick apparently behind me or Jade. But nope. I was partnered with the raging stubborn mess in Terezi's grasp. Another agitated sigh.

"Boys vs Girls for most of these competitions… to make it 'fair'. I call a bunch of bullshit." She rolled her eyes, then wrapped an arm around Jade's neck, pulling her close. The smaller girl sputtered a moment before I heard Vriska hiss venomously. _"We're going to wipe the floor with everyone here, got it?"_ Jade simply gave a heavy nod as she turned pale. I don't think she liked the spunky chick. No wonder, their personalities clashed worse than cats and dogs. She seemed to be the type to walk all over Jade, while Jade probably wouldn't have the backbone to say no. Poor girl.

John suddenly lifted his gaze as his name was called for team 24. Apparently he was teamed with Terezi, some guy named Sollux, and another girl named Feferi? I had to rub the bridge of my nose as all of these names kept getting blurted out. The weirdness continued. My room-mate simply smiled at me as he noticed the other two getting together and Terezi highly contemplating on joining them, but was too occupied holding Karkat still. "That's my cue to go I guess. Good luck Dave! And…" John stopped, looking to Vriska and Jade for a second, blinking in some weird confusion. "Good luck to you too, sis."

"Don't worry. I'll take _good care of her_." Vriska hummed as she ran a finger across Jade's chin, earning a squeak from her. John simply gave a nervous laugh, waved, and ran to join the two who'd gathered a bit further away.

All that remained of team 24 was Terezi, who was still holding the struggling Karkat. She glanced my way as she struggled to keep holding the guy and I tried to ignore the frightening aura that was meshing together between Jade and Vriska. "Oi, Strider! Come take this punk off my hands. I gotta go meet new blood." She cackled.

Kartkat paused for a brief second to look back at Terezi, but struggled with a vengeance immediately at the thought of me holding him still next. I rolled my shoulders, adjusted my shades and stepped towards the struggling two as I stretched my fingers, and felt my neck crack. Had to put on the tough guy act it seemed, though I was more looking forward to flailing around and making that face even redder with rage. What can I say? It amused me. He didn't even know me and he automatically assumed he hated me. Then again, our first interaction so far has been nothing but me tormenting him. Guy needed to learn to chillax.

Another long hiss escaped as I stood in front of him for a moment, grinning darkly before I reached out and wrapped my arms around his front-side, giving him the biggest bear hug I could muster. Tez laugh as she let Karkat go, wiping her brow and watching and I flung Karkat around like a ragdoll "Heh heh. Well then. I can see where this is going. Have fun with that, lover boys~" she cackled and hurried off to her forming group.

Even my own jaw dropped at this a bit, but unlike the less willing party, I didn't continue making a scene. "Terezi I swear to fucking Jegus I will make you EAT THOSE WORDS during this competition. **YOU HEAR ME!?**"

"We won't be competing against Terezi. Boys and girls are separated I guess." I mumbled, letting him go as he seemed to stop struggling and focus more on beating the blind girl.

He clenched his fists and ground his teeth before glaring up at me again. "But we're a team, right?"

"Yeah?" I said, once more cocking an eyebrow.

"There's two girls, and two boys on each team. It'll probably be done through a points system by last man standing, or whoever makes it the furthest in some of these dumbshit competitions, or how we place in terms of races or anything like that. Since there's two girls and two boys on each team, it's not wrong to assume our points would be combined, would it?"

"Hum." I looked over my shoulder at Terezi's group, suddenly wondering how much I wanted to beat her too. With the jabs of me being afraid to compete against a blind girl and all… also John was on that team. Neither of us recognized the guy with the red and blue bi-color shades or the brown haired girl with pink highlights. The guy looked kind of formidable, but the girl looked scrawny, flimsy. On the complete other hand, Vriska looked badass and like she was ready to take on the world, and Jade was as meek as a kitten. Terezi seemed the competitive type, so chances were she and Vriska would be a good match, but their partners would slow them down.

That left me and Karkat vs 'Sollux' and John.

"Hum…" I said again, putting a hand to my mouth in thought.

It was Karkat's turn to cock an eyebrow at me as he seemed to be impatiently waiting for me to make some sort of comment on this whole 'competition' thing. Just a few moments ago, he was ready to clobber me blue. Now he was wanting to work together to kick Terezi's ass? Maybe it had something to do with that lover-boy comment. He ground his teeth after I 'hummed' a third time, and then crossed his arms tightly over his slender chest. "Look asshole, John is not exactly the competitive type, nor is he a P.E. superstar. Not sure about that other guy over there, but I'm sure you and I could beat them in a competition. Lets knock them off the charts and give her a reason to pout for a change."

"Hum."

"Stop fucking saying 'Hum!'"

"Hnn."

"I'm going to backhand you in a minute."

"Lame." I muttered under my breath, then once more glanced at Terezi's team. "I dunno man. Terezi and I go a long way back."

"No you fucking don't! Terezi and**_ I_** go a long way back to lying dipwad!" he sneered, daring to get closer to me as if challenging me. Or maybe he was trying to read my expression through my shades. Too bad he could only see his reflection.

"Nah. Maybe I'll make you drag me through this whole thing." I smirked down at him, shoving my hands in my pockets again. Of course I was teasing him, but it was so much fucking fun to get a rise out of him.

And of course it worked. His jaw dropped for a second, before that same pissed off mama bear face came back on and he dared to reach out and grab the collar of my shirt and shake me insistently. _Cute_, I thought with a smirk. "You are seriously going to just pussyfoot around this whole thing and let them win!? That is the biggest load of actual bullshit my ears have heard all day next to you wanting me to call you master!" Heh. I chuckled at this. I couldn't help it. "Seriously Strider, if I don't fucking kill you, I'm sure punk-ass bitch face over there would be more than happy to clobber you."

"Oh?" I looked surprised, adjusting my shades as I stood more firm, not letting him shake me anymore. "Going to let a woman do your fighting for you? Man, I didn't think you were a wuss. John just might beat us after all." I sighed again, but couldn't help but smirk as I watched the rage fill his eyes again. He was so easy to bait along.

"I'm going to strangle you in the competition when no one can see it."

I grinned down at him, leaning ever so closer to him. He flinched and backed up, the red still in his cheeks, probably from his raging. "Kinky." Is all I said, leaving him speechless as he dropped his jaw a bit, then turned away, muttering profanities under his breath. After I let him wallow for a moment, I shouldered him a bit to grab his attention, seeing him turn to glare at me sharply. "I'm in." I finally said, grinning towards Terezi and John. It would be fun. Besides, I did want to get her back for the lover boy comment and also insinuating that I was intimidated by her.

The glare lessened after I stated I was going to give it my all, and he blinked, perhaps in surprise. I'd done nothing but torture him, and now I was agreeing to help him kick their asses. After a short moment however, he frowned and looked skeptical of my decision, once more tightly crossing his arms over his chest. "How the fuck do you expect me to take you seriously? Are you _really_ going to try, Strider? Or are you going to continue to try and make me look like an idiot?"

"You do a good enough job of that yourself." I retorted, hearing another groan from the shorter party. I thought about it a moment before looking up at the blinding sun for a second, relaxing my shoulders. "You know dude, I love irony." I started, seeing him shift a bit from the corner of my eye, but didn't move any more than that. "Being a sarcastic asshole is just what I do. I got up today and packed my shit in the car, had my bro drop me off at college, and planned to avoid this fucking event like a black plague. Judging by your attitude at being drug here, you wanted nothing to do with it either." I reached up and grabbed the rim of my shades, pulling them a bit. "Yet here we both are, in this stupid ass competition, even though we were both dead set against it, as team members. That's fucking ironic."

"Beating the people who wanted us to be here in their own game I think would be even more ironic. Don't you think?"

It took him a long moment, staring at me as he squinted, probably trying to examine whether I was bullshitting him or not. However he gave a reluctant nod, finally grinning in return as we came to an agreement that Terezi and John had to go down. "Good." I finally said, adjusting my shades and leaning against the wall of the building, poker face back on.

It was game on at this point.

* * *

Time passed far too slowly for my liking. Some simple tasks were annoying as fuck, and honestly I was tiring of running laps and being timed for it, or dumping colored water in buckets down lines and trying not to spill any. Normally I'd complain about running around looking like a rainbow, but we were provided with 'frosh week' t-shirts which were white and had our team number on it. So my shirt was fine thank fuck, but it meant chances were I was going to get a nasty burn being out in the sun like this. Ah well. I was a man, I could handle the heat, even if it wasn't all that flattering on the skin. I was going to show Terezi that I didn't actually need to be here and rub salt in the wounds when we made it to the top scores.

Karkat and I stepped on each others toes now and then, but our determination to beat back John and Tez seemed more important than getting down each others throats as the scuffles would only last so long. Jade on the other hand seemed to be struggling with getting along with Vriska. Vriska was rather… overbearing, and very much the type that hated to lose. It seemed to put Jade on the spot, but Serket also had an amazing way of boosting Jade's confidence and getting her to try much harder… bringing out her potential I guess. It was kind of nice seeing that someone as bitchy as Vriska had some kind of good in her, but also liked to be in the limelight it seemed. Ah well. It wasn't really any of my concern.

The afternoon started to wind down and I found myself in the shade, getting a drink of water and making sure my sunscreen was still working. You know, not causing any sick burns that would make an annoying sleep that night. I dared to pull my shades from my face and squint my eyes shut, pouring a little water over it and running the cool droplets through my hair with my fingers. Squeezing any water out of my eye sockets, I quickly shoved my shades back over my them, hearing an angry snort next to me. My partner was such a peachy keen kind of guy. I glanced over at the sour look on Karkat's face, he too donning a rainbow stained t-shirt to watch the rest of us. "Problem?" I asked.

He quickly turned his face back ahead of him and also took a drink of water, swallowing the contents quickly and wiping the corner of his mouth. "Not really."

"You're just generally hateful, aren't you?"

Another glare, though this one looked a bit more agitated than the rest, almost as if I hit a soft spot or something. "You don't know shit about me." He hissed dangerously as fierce eyes demanded I stay far away from any subject pertaining to his anger issues.

I couldn't help but wonder why he was so bent out of shape though. Then again, what right did I really have to question his motives or personality? I wasn't exactly a flowery field of sunshine and smiles either. Terezi pointed out to me that hiding behind my shades hid my expression and thus made me seem un-approachable. While I had known this all along, at least back home I still had people who knew me and wasn't intimidated to be around me. They knew that I poker faced everything and wasn't really some stuck up asshole trying to block out the world. Those people already knew me and had my trust, accepted me for who I was and so on and so forth. Unlike home, the only person I knew here was my sister Rose, and that wasn't really someone I could just go to and shoot the shit with. She had other priorities.

But at the same time, it's hard to let someone get that close to you too. You give out some trust, and sometimes it kind of backfires and shoots you in the ass. Unfortunately, I knew that feeling all too well, and from the way Karkat was acting towards me 'not knowing him' and the asshole attitude, he might have known too. But I couldn't really judge. He really could be just some pissed off asshole for all I knew. The only way I'd ever know for sure was if I actually **_got_** **_to know him._**

"Good enough answer." I shrugged, glancing back to the courtyard. "Consider the topic sunk deeper than the Titanic."

Squinting past the crowd of people, I tried to make out what it was we were doing next. It seemed to involve a HUGE blow up obstacle course. Another race, huh? Should be interesting. The organizers suddenly blew the whistle, signaling for everyone to gather back to get our instructions on the race. I gave Karkat a bit of a nudge as he seemed to not want to get back out there. Maybe this whole thing was wearing him down. He sighed though after a moment, tossing his empty bottle in the recycle and stretching his arms. "Let's get this shit over with and rub their faces in the dirt."

"You read my mind." I said casually, following him back to the courtyard. We met back up with Vriska and Jade, who seemed enthusiastic about the event, ready and raring to go. I grinned at the two of them as Vriska offered me a thumbs up, assuring me she had no intentions of letting us lose. None of us had any idea what the scores actually were and wouldn't really know until the end of the day. We had no sweet clue if we were doing better than John and Tez. We did know that some events we excelled in better than they did, but they also did fair in events we were sloppy at. With this being the last event of the day, we had to give it our all.

"We hope that you've enjoyed the afternoon so far, and yes, you will be damn sore the next few days, I can guarantee you." said the brunette host, giving us a bit of a challenging grin. "This is the last event of the day, so we want you all to give it everything you got and any slackers will be punished severely."

"Kinky." I muttered softly, earning an eye roll from my partner in crime.

"As you can see, behind me in a huge blow up obstacle course." She said, gesturing to the brightly colored castle behind her. It looked like it had several levels, but because of the outside walls, it was impossible to tell what was actually in the course. I frowned at this, but how hard could it be? Sure, it would be awkward as fuck at first to be running on air practically, but we'd get the hang of it.

Or at least I thought we could, until the host gave a bit of a sadistic grin. "However, we can't make it too easy, so there is a twist!" she smirked, before reaching behind her and grabbed something off of the table, holding it high for everyone to see. A piece of rope? My kinky statement remained fact. Maybe we had to leash up our partners and have them run through ahead of us or something. I gave a sadistic grin at my partner who flinched as if reaching my mind. I saw him mouth a 'fuck you' before looking back at the display. I simply shook my head until the host spoke up again.

"You and your gender partner will be tied together at the ankles, making it a three legged race obstacle course! If you are untied, you are disqualified. _Now how is __**THAT**__ for interesting_?"

"Well fuck me…" I grumbled, stiffening a bit. This was going to be weird. My leg attached to Karkat's as we try and maneuver through a blow-up obstacle course with who knew what kind of traps inside to fuck with us? I wasn't feeling so confident about this idea, and Jade also seemed fidgeting until Vriska gave her a pat on the back and muttered re-assurance of their domination through it. A three legged race… I eyed Karkat awkwardly as the host started calling up teams one by one to get their ropes. This meant a lot of co-operation on our part, which was going to be difficult since we'd be scrambling too. "Think we can do this?" I muttered under my breath.

Karkat sneered towards the brightly colored castle, as if challenging it himself, then turned to me giving a heavy, determined nod. He was a stubborn one, that was for sure. I rolled my shoulders in defeat, and waited until we were called up. We kicked off our shoes as there was a no shoes rule in case someone damaged the castle, then stepped up to the host. She started to hand over our rope, but paused, snatching it back and giving me a bit of a grin. What a tease. I was about to make some ironic retort when she spoke up, sending a brick to my gut. "Hey now, the sunglasses need to come off for this event. If they break, they could puncture the blowup. Besides, you wanna be able to see everything that's happening."

Oh my hell, fuck that. I pulled back as she reached for my glasses, adjusting them so they stayed on the bridge of my nose. "That hardly seems fair. Jade and Vriska get to wear their glasses because without them they're blind." I retorted, cocking an eyebrow.

"Regular glasses are made a fair bit sturdier than sunglasses, and would take a lot more to break them. Besides, they have those grips to help keep them from falling off. If it's not a medical need, they come off. It's the rules, cool kid."

What a bitch. "Oh it is a medical need. I'll die without them."

"Nice try." She said, reaching out and snatching them off of my face. However after a second when she noticed my eye color, she paused, looking a bit shocked at first, then gave a bit of a nervous grin. "Color contacts too?"

"No." I replied sourly, furrowing my eyebrows at her. It was much harder to poker face without my glasses to hide my eyes. She blinked a few times and then shook her head, carefully placing my shades on the table with all of the other confiscated items.

"You'll get them back once the race is over." She said, her voice wavering a bit.

I couldn't help but grunt as I snatched the rope from her and walked back out to the crowd with my head down, trying my hardest to hide the shade of my hues from everyone. Some people saw, I could tell by the way they stared. I really should have been used to it. I stopped after we got some distance between people, refusing to make eye contact with my partner who also seemed too busy staring to really even comprehend we had to get ready. I rolled my eyes, handing the rope to him. I saw him flinch in surprise from the corner of my eye. "If you have the time to gawk, you could make this less awkward by ironically making this more awkward by tying our legs together."

Once more, a grumble came from my partner and saw his shadow bend down after a second of fiddling with the rope. It was only when he wasn't looking directly at me anymore than I dared to look at him again. I felt damn naked without my shades, exposed, and it was uncomfortable. After a moment, he managed to tie the rope tightly around my left leg and his right, standing up and frowning at me. Huh. A frown. That was probably the nicest expression he's given me all day. Better than the sneers, snarls and glares.

But he was looking at my eyes again, and that wigged me out. Instead of shying my eyes away from him, I simply cocked an eyebrow, returning the frown he was giving me. "Again I ask… Problem?"

He blinked once and gave a small shrug much to my surprise, but didn't really stop looking. It was damn uncomfortable. "No. Not really." He muttered softly. Red hues rolled as I looked back to the blowup castle, prying my gaze away from his. Some poet once said eyes were the windows to the soul, and locking eyes too long with someone could mean more intricate feelings. That of course held untrue for me. People only looked **_at_** my eyes… not _into_ them. It was a bit agitating that you could actually tell the difference.

"We should practice walking at least." I said quietly, refusing to look at Karkat in the face again. I fiddled with my hair to try shade my eyes a bit, to not draw so much attention. It was kind of hard to miss after all. Eyes stained the color of blood. I heard my partner give a grunt in agreement, seemingly speechless now that he'd seen the demon eyes, but made no attempt to make conversation. Then again, we tried our damnedest not to converse during the whole competition with only a few scuffles in between.

We lifted our bound legs and took a step awkwardly together, then our opposite free legs. Rinse, recycle, repeat. We were determined to win this thing after all, and I wanted it over as quickly as possible so I could get back into my comfort zone. Others were also practicing, hoping to get the hang of it before the actual race. Karkat and I both looked up to see John and that Sollux guy looking in our direction as they tied their legs together. Sollux looked pretty confident, but John looked kind of worried. He was too nice for his own good.

I simply cast them a grin and gave them a thumbs down. John's partner, now also without glasses but too far away to see what color his eyes were frowned in my direction, then mimicked my movement. John cast a wary glance to his partner, then back at me. He almost looked sad. What a kid.

The host finally called everyone to attention, stopping us in our tracks. "Alright! Now that everyone has had a little time to practice, let's get this show on the road!" She said, motioning towards the blow up castle and pulled a sheet down revealing the entrance, it being a small blow up wall to climb over. However, there were two pathways. That could only mean one thing… "Two teams will be pitted against one another in this race. Boys will go first, then the girls in a separate race. The partners who finish first will gain the most points, based on their clearance time which will be added to the final score at the end of the day! Opposing teams will be based on lottery." She grinned, reaching towards a small glass container filled with little papers inside.

The host grasped two of them and I felt myself grin towards John again just as she opened her mouth. It felt like I already knew who she was calling out before she did. I was right. After all, being pitted against Sollux and John in the three legged obstacle course and having Jade and Vriska against Feferi and Terezi was too _ironic._

**"Team 17 and team 24!"**

Karkat suddenly grinned, looking towards John and Sollux just as I had. He cupped his hands around his mouth with the most competitive expression I'd seen him with all day. **"You're going DOWN Egbert!"**

* * *

_And there's Chapter 3! Whew. This one was a bit longer than the last two, but the real fun will begin in chapter 4. Hell, we're still one Frosh Week! Look forward to Chapter 4, which I'll be starting to type vigorously right after this! I promise __**we'll have lots of fun**__ in the next chapter, and finally start moving this storyline along a bit. We've only scratched the surface after all! ~ Love! _


	4. Chapter 4: Irony

_Once more, apologies for the delay! Chances are I won't be able to write a chapter every 2 days and update, but maybe somewhere closer to once a week. I'm sure you guys are all excited Homestuck is updating again. I know I am! Anyways, short intro this time! Not much to say except that we're picking up right where we left off. Dave and Karkat vs John and Sollux in an epic blow up castle obstacle course three legged race. We're finally moving this along and getting out of frosh challenges, as fun as they are. _

* * *

**Chapter 4: Irony**

* * *

It was pretty glorious to say the least, walking up to the front of that big bouncy house in front of us and grin towards our opponents. Karkat was looking pretty smug, but then again, I'm pretty sure I was too. This was the first time I managed to get a decent look at this Sollux guy. The same frosh week t-shirt as us, just as stained and baggy beige cargo pants, slightly spiked black hair and braces. But what caught me was he too seemed to have a special set of eyes; one dark brown eye and one dark blue. We both seemed to catch each others gaze and stared at the special coloration before deciding that admiring our uniqueness wasn't going to win the race. He was determined, just like I was.

"On your marks!" we heard the host shout. We quickly averted our attention to castle in front of us, bracing our legs.

"Get Set~" she hummed teasingly. I heard Karkat chuckle darkly next to me, muttering about how he was going to leave Egbert in the dust. Definitely our intention.

"GO!"

And as the word left her mouth we took off but much to our surprise, not as well as we wanted to. When I say not as well as we wanted to, I think we'd forgotten something very important in terms of getting ready for this race. It relied _heavily _on teamwork. And while we had time to practice walking a bit, there was nothing in place for the two of us to know which leg was first or what pacing we were going at. I started with my right leg, but so did Karkat, and we sadly ended up on the ground in a tangled mess with the campus laughing at our lack of co-operation.

Of course kitty-kat was more than ready to fire off shit-faced remarks about how much of an idiot I was for not followed his lead. What lead? We'd never discussed what we were doing and clearly never thought about it. If this was his form of leading, well I was lead right to the ground. Execute me, all mighty executioner of complete bullshit.

"Dave!" I he hissed as he tried to get up, but stumbled again since our legs were tied tightly together. Clearly our teamwork was a hurting unit. I pushed myself up a bit as Karkat jerked a thumb towards the castle and noticed John and Sollux half way up the wall, co-operating fairly well.

"Shit." I muttered, sitting up, then carefully stood with my partner.

In a panic of falling behind, we almost made the same mistake again, stumbling a bit, but caught ourselves. "Oh for fuck sake- get it together, fuckass!" he growled, pointing to his right leg. "Our tied legs first, then the free ones!" I nodded in confirmation and we took our first rushed step forward, quickly getting a rhythm that allowed us to reach the wall, and begin our ascent. However by the time we reached it, John and Sollux finished climbing over. However, much to our advantage, we heard a splash and a yelp from the two. We paused mid climb to look at each other in understanding.

"A pool."

"Probably ice fucking cold." I grumbled, reaching up and taking another step. We reached the top and of course, since these things are made of rubber and blow up, instead of quietly climbing over it with some sort of grace or coolness, the damn thing flooped forward, throwing us face first into said pool we'd guessed. Yes, it was ice fucking cold. With ice. Lots and lots of ice cubes. I could help but curse like a motherfucker as it hit like every sensitive part on the human body. Of course instincts are a powerful things, and we struggled trying to get out of said pool, losing that teamwork we had going since we wanted to badly just to get out of it.

Karkat jumped up and attempted to flee from the ice, but found himself back in the pool, also cursing like a motherfucker, not that that was any different than any other moment we've shared. I hissed through my now freezing teeth, pulling him up a bit so he didn't drown in the kiddy pool. "Karkles, stand up slowly, then same thing. Bondage leg, free leg. Let's go!"

"Don't fucking touch me!" he hissed again, batting my hand away. Shock. He said nothing about the nickname. Probably too focused on winning and making sure I wasn't molesting him. However he listened to my instruction and stood up shivering, and we made quick work getting out of the pool that was no deeper than our knees. Fuck it was cold though. I could only imagine what other traps were in store for us in this thing, but we had to start making tracks if we wanted a chance at catching up to Egbert and his partner.

The next obstacle was simple, and only a few feet away actually. Basically giant 'bars' attached horizontally to the walls that you had to go over or under with very little squeeze room to get through them as there'd be another 'bar' right above or below it. The first one was only up to my waist, it would be easy to go up. "Over" I said, but felt resistance from my partner. Groaning I turned to look at him. "Over Karkat. It's easier, plus we could like maybe jump the next one."

"Yeah cause these things give us a shit load of support like that wall. Under! It's higher on me."

"Dude, it's not that high."

"It's high enough! It'll be easier to go under!

"We'll be squeezy if we go under. Look we're wasting time!"

"Under God-Dammit! I won't have it any other way!" he hissed.

I couldn't help but grin, making him pause suddenly. "So you like to bottom, do you?"

"**_What!?_**"

"I took you as more of a rider. Guess I was wrong." I snickered, but bent down regardless, again feeling resistance from my partner. "I'll go down with you this time."

"You're a sick fucking asshole, Strider." He hissed, following me to squeeze through the bars. I couldn't help but grin at the insanely red cheeks he had, but now he was avoiding eye contact. Hah! Was he actually _shy? _Now _that _was ironic! The loudmouth who drew all of the attention to himself… shy! Ironic as fuck and you know damn well already how much I love irony.

We took all of the lower leveled squeeze-ways, trying to keep in sync with one another now that Karkat was flustered and seemingly trying to get away from me. Once we emerged, we were on our feet again and froze at the next interesting obstacle. The castle went up a level, like a second floor type thing, but the only thing to climb was a set of rope attached to a metal bar above the arena. They were knotted so that would make it easier, but for us to climb the ropes with three legs, this was going to be hard. With a grunt, Karkat pushed forward, forcing me to do the same and grabbed his rope. I did the same. We exchanged a brief glance, then jumped a bit, grabbing the rope. It became obvious within half a second that our tied leg gave all of the support to one person and none for the other as we tumbled back down, landing softly on the bright yellow rubber floor.

"God dammit!" he hissed, glaring at the rope for a second, clenching his fists. I could see from his gaze he was studying for an easier way to climb it, but we could hear Sollux and John on the other side of the wall doing the same. We'd caught up, but the pressure was on. No actual words could be heard, just muffles as the sounds bounced off the walls, just as we would if we were hyper little children. "We could I guess lean together in the middle of our ropes when we climb so our tied leg kind catches the edge of each of the knots… or take turns on who gets the support… or…" he squinted, trying to find the quickest solution to the issue.

I'd already found it, and I didn't like it. I sighed and stood up, forcing Karkat with me. "Just climb. I got this." I said, grabbing the rope again.

"Wait what-"

"I said climb like you normally would. I got this."

He blinked at me once, but finally grabbed his rope, looking at my cautiously. On the count of three, we jumped again, and Karkat grunted when he noticed I gave him all of the support. More or less I was climbing mostly with my arms. The only support I got from my legs was using one foot on the knot and pushing it against my tied one to give a little support. It burned the hands like a bitch, but it would be the fastest, easiest way. "You crazy motherfucker." Her grumbled, but climbs faster, much to my appreciation.

Once we made it to the top, we swung a little until we managed to fling ourselves onto the platform, flopping onto our stomachs. I paused for only a second to catch my breath and stare at my reddened hands as they burned, then sat up, determined to keep moving. This was a timed event after all and we had to beat them! "Let's go." I breathed heavily, watching Karkat nod quickly as he caught his breath. Instead of standing however, the tunnel in front of us required crawling. So we quickly crawled on our hands and knees through the tight tunnel built for one person, perhaps being too snug. I wanted to make a remark about how I'd got him on his knees, but refrained. Had to focus on winning. The rubber padding felt nice on the palms.

There was a sharp incline part way through which we reached over immediately, but unfortunately found no support afterward and found ourselves tumbling down a large slide rather uncomfortably. Instead of sliding down naturally like you're supposed to, we kind of tumbled head over heels, and all the way down found ourselves getting coating in something both wet and fluffy, but couldn't really tell what it was. At the bottom of the slide we found ourselves face first on a pair of less than comfortable gym mats, head spinning from the tumble down. We'd reached the end.

"Did we beat them…?" Karkat groaned, glancing to our right.

Shit. They were already there, sitting up and getting their heads straight. We'd lost. This whole thing might have just cost us beating them in terms of score. I groaned and started to wipe apparently whipped-fucking-cream off of my face at the disappointment of losing. Dammit. So much for salt on the wounds.

Until the sounds of Karkat and Sollux being soaked in ice water again caught our attention. We both couldn't help but grimace in preparation for us to be drenched again, but it never came. John pouted and Sollux groaned as she shook the water out of his hair. It wasn't until Karkat tugged at my sleeve and pointed behind the other two, at the base of the slide that I realized why they were being punished. Apparently as they were tumbling down the slide, their rope tying their legs together came loose and as laying by itself at the foot of the slide.

Both of our eyes shot down to our leg s. Still tied together as ungodly tight as Karkat has tied it in the first place. "Team 24 is disqualified! Team 17 is the winners!" What a fucking laugh. They were the fastest, but got themselves disqualified over that. Probably wasn't their fault by any means, but it was too. Damn. Ironic. I laughed as I felt the host shove my shades back on my face, daring to mess up my hair. "Good job, cool kid." She laughed, looking back to the crowd. "Alright, girls next! Get your asses up here!"

With that cue, Karkat quickly untied himself from me and pried himself away, stumbling towards the side of the building. I followed suit, shaking my once unified leg so the blood would flow properly again. Karkat glanced over his shoulder and glared at me as he snatched up his shirt, still soaked and still covered in whipped cream. If I was gay, that probably would have been hot. Maybe I should wait and watch Terezi, Vriska and Jade come out. That would be a fucking turn on. But right now, I had a certain angry kitten glaring at me for no reason, that tinge of pink still lingering in his cheeks. "Why are you following me?"

"I'm… not?" I blinked, adjusting my shades up on my name. He curled his nose up at this. He was suddenly in a sour mood. Wasn't he happy that we won? Granted, it was by default, so maybe that wasn't something to be proud of, but still a win. "My shirt just happens to be here too?"

"Whatever." He grunted, shaking his hair free of what mess he could before turning on his heel. He was leaving? Ohh. I didn't think so. I frowned reaching out and grabbing his shoulder to stop him as I heard the race start for Jade and Tez behind us. He flinched and shoved my hand from his shoulder, once more giving me a harsh glare as if I'd suddenly become his most hated enemy. Wow. Bipolar much?

"Where are you going, dude? Shouldn't you wait for Terezi's race to finish?"

"I'm going to get fucking showered before this shit dries up and I smell like a fucking dead animal that bathed in sour milk." He huffed, grinding his teeth. "You might think you're cool, but you won't be so hot if you stick around and let that happen either."

"Dude. Did you just call me hot?"

"No!" he spat defensively, cheeks flaring up again. He totally did. He could have said 'They won't think you're hot stuff' but he said 'I wouldn't be so hot'. Hah. Cute. Kind of awkward, but cute at the same time. She hissed and turned on his heels again, shoulders tense. I reached out one more time to stop him but this time he smacked away my hand with such force that it actually kind of pissed me off. Dude had that pitchfork back and currently being the mess I was, I wasn't in the mood to deal with this bullshit. "I said don't fucking touch me, Strider."

"Fine." I grunted, shoving my hands in my pockets as I returned the glare towards him as he started to walk off. "Keep it up, Vant-ass. You'll be everyone's favorite person with that charming personality of yours." I spat. All I received was him flipped me off over his shoulder before he disappeared into the building. What did I care. He had the 'charming' personality for a fucking pissed off snake. Clearly he only wanted to get along for the competition to shove Terezi's face in the dirt. Now that it was over, our truce was over and he'd go back to being a dull stick in the mud.

I turned to look at the castle as I heard the shrieks inside from the girl, and Vriska's determined laughter with a frown.

I'd just been used for the pettiest bullshit ever. How the fuck did I let myself get sucked into it?

A hot shower definitely calmed the nerves. John followed me back to the dorm shortly after his sister finished their race and insistently was telling me about it through the door as I undressed for said shower. Apparently Vriska and Jade won by a landslide, something to do with Feferi having difficulties on the rope and Terezi being too rambunctious. It was nice to know that chances were we scored better than them, but at the same time I was still feeling agitated over Karkat changing his tune. Before when we'd just met, it was almost like he was putting up this loudmouth front. I saw he was shy to some extent, for Jegus sake, even when I teased him so badly. But once the competition was over, it was almost like there was a genuine sourness coming from him. Maybe I pushed it too far when I teased him about his choice of wording.

Now that I thought about it, I insinuated twice that he was gay. Once for catching him calling me hot, and once when I said he was a bottom-er. I was only being a smartass… was he really bothered by it? Then again, why should I care? He was just another asshole that I didn't really have to deal with if I didn't choose to.

Once the shower was shut off and I was satisfied with my current state of cleanliness, I could still hear John rambling on the other side of the door about the events today. He talked a lot about Sollux and Feferi. Apparently the two of them were a thing, but didn't really catch my attention that much. Drying my hair, he talked about how apparently Vriska had upped Jade's motivation the entire time and John kind of admired her for that, asking me what it was like to be on the same team as Jade, Vriska and Karkat. I simply muttered that it was weird, but John just kept on going.

The boy needed an off-switch.

Pants on, but still shirtless, I opened the bathroom door still half wet and saw John standing right in front of it. He jolted back a little, face reddened a bit and scratched his cheek. Kinda creepy. "John, man. That's kind of weird, standing right outside while I shower and talk the entire time."

"Uhm."

"Uhm?" I replied and watched as he glanced around nervously.

"You were just. Uhm. Taking a while and I really-need-to-use-the-washroom-Dave. Could you maybe let me in now?"

Oh. That made more sense. I rolled my shoulders and stepped out, watching as John practically tripped into the bathroom, but he paused before he shut the door, blinking at me before giving that goofy grin. "Not to sound creepy or anything Dave, but you have really cool eyes. You shouldn't really hide them." He laughed and shut the door.

I felt my shoulders sag at the mention of them, catching my reflection in the mirror across from the bathroom door. Of course my shades weren't on as I'd just gotten out of the shower, so I could see them in their blood-stained glory, looking just as miserable to be looking at me as I was looking at them. Haha. Oh wait. Riiight. That was me. "Cool, huh?" I muttered quietly, walking towards my room and snatching the shades up to shove over my face against John's suggestion. They freaked people the fuck out. Not wearing them was a stupid idea and usually had people either crawling all over me or avoiding me like a black plague. No way in hell.

I collapsed on my bed and just stared at the ceiling as I let today's thoughts roll through my mind. John Egbert… Terezi Pyrope… Vriska Serket… Jade Harley-

Wait a sec. Jade _Harley_? Aside from the fact that her last name was the same as a kick ass bike, her name was different than John's, yet he said they were siblings. On the other hand, my sister took on our mother's last name 'Lalonde'. Perhaps Jade did the same, or maybe there was something a little deeper behind it. Part of me wanted to find out, but it was uncool to go nosing into a girls business, especially on something that could be as touchy as family. Family could be one of the best subjects to talk about, or one of the worst. The thought of bringing up a sore subject to John and Jade kind of bothered me, just like him talking about my eyes also bothered me.

I stared up at the ceiling, noting to myself that it was white and bare. I'd have to do something about that. Bland white ceilings weren't exactly something I enjoyed looking at. It was a bit unsettling actually. Clicking my tongue, I rolled over onto my side and shove my face in my pillow, smelling scents of home. I didn't really miss it, this was an opportunity of a lifetime. Still it made me think of things I'd rather not think about. It was frustrating trying to keep those thoughts at bay but eventually my mind snapped out of it when I heard John turn on the shower. He was a mess too from the whole race. Rainbow stained t-shirts and souring whipped cream in the hot sun. It definitely didn't do so much for the nostrils, just like Karkat had said when he stormed off.

What stick did he have up his ass anyways? I could always ask John later when he got out of the shower, but why should I care about some pompous dipshit with an attitude of a PMSing cow? It was hard to believe I followed along with his idea to stand out on top in the most miserable college shenanigans ever created.

I glanced at my alarm clock nest to my bed, blinking at the time. Huh. Was it already 1:00pm?

… Oh FUCK. It was 1:00pm! Orientation was starting soon!

With a curse I scrambled off of my bed, snatching up my hoodie and pulling it on as I rushed to the door, tapping the bathroom door slightly. I heard John give a yelp in surprise. "Wh-What is it Dave?"

"Dude. Orientation. It starts in like. Ten minutes."

"Cripes…" I heard John groan on the other side of the door, then heard the bottles of shampoo hit the bottom of the tub, once more another yelp escaping his lips. "I-I'll hurry then! Good luck Dave!" I grinned a bit at his stammering, he really was like an adorable little kid. I slid on my sneakers quickly and swung the door open to leave, when I heard John call to me again. "Uh… Dave?"

"Not now, Egbert. I'll talk to you later!" I shouted behind me and slammed the door shut. Whatever it was he was going to ask, he can ask it later. It couldn't have been that big of a deal. Unless he was worried I'd be mad that he knocked over my shampoo with the 'don't touch my stuff' rule. That was a little much I think. Now if he was dumping it down the drain, yeah, I'd be pissed. But knocking it over wasn't that big of a deal. Either way, I'd hear from him later I was sure.

* * *

I quickly made my way across campus and found the auditorium. Apparently this was where the 'Performing Arts' course was. I adjusted my shades, glad I was already wearing them or else I would have forgotten. I was late, but better late than never, right? It'd been a long morning and shit hadn't even started yet. How stupid of me on my part.

I could hear a bit of talking inside. Welp, it was my time to shine.

Without much thought, I took a step back and kicked the door open, hearing the room go quiet as I did so. Eyes were on me, and that was the way it should be. They had a look of surprise, awe, some even looked annoyed. It wasn't the looks I hated, but the ones that made me who I was. A Strider. I stepped in, kicking the door with my ankle and shoved one hand in my pocket and lifting my free one to give a halfhearted wave. "Yo. Sorry I'm late." Was all I said.

"Quite an entrance." The professor stated, glaring at me with his arms tight across his chest. "I wouldn't make a habit out of it."

"Chill." I said, rolling my shoulders and walking to find a seat in the auditorium. "As students of the performance arts, we all know that making an entrance is important. I'm merely giving a first day demonstration." I grinned and dropped in a seat next to a girl who seemed to be fidgeting the closer I got. I offered her a grin, until I heard the professor speak up.

"Well then, since all eyes are on you and you interrupted us, perhaps you'd like to go next?"

"Cool. What am I doing Mr. director?" A few giggles. Perfect.

"You're introducing yourself. You've made your grand entrance, now the audience needs to know who you are. Tell us a bit about yourself."

"Dave Strider. 19, Sagittarius. Come from Texas. I like anything ironic, music, parties and and a little hand to hand combat is fun once in a while."

"Clearly you like to be the center of attention. Is that why you're taking Performance Arts?" the professor asked, cocking an eyebrow at me.

I simply shrugged my shoulders. "Something like that."

"Anything else?

"Nah. I'm cool." I said, leaning back in my seat.

"Good. I expect we won't have a disturbance like this in the future, else you'll be the center of attention as you leave the auditorium." He scoffed. Again, I shrugged. I'd made my entrance and probably wouldn't have to be so loud in the future. The girl next to me was still fidgeting something awful. Adorable really. I could see me enjoying a class with her.

"Now then, I guess we'll go back to where we left off… who was next?" the professor said, looking up to the opposite side of the auditorium where a figure slowly stood up.

My mouth dropped and my shades even slid down the bridge of my nose at the sight of who stood up. There was no fucking way what I was seeing was correct, was it? I quickly pulled my shades from my eyes to make sure I wasn't hallucinating, hearing the cutie next to me gasp, but at this particular moment I didn't give a shit.

"**_Karkat Vantas._**" Came the annoyed voice as he glared right towards me.

Irony was usually an awesome thing but this time, irony tasted a little bitter. Or perhaps it was bittersweet… seeing his glare cost in my direction, I couldn't help but give a grin in return, sliding my shades back on my face. So this was how it was going to be, huh?

Karkat Vantas and myself in the same course. This was going to be a terrible, and yet somehow beautiful semester.


	5. Chapter 5: Cats and Kittens

_Quicker than you expected, isn't it!? Yeah, since my next few days off are probably going to be jammed tight with either visiting, issues or high school graduation bursary giving shenanigans, I decided it's best to get another chapter started and try and get it up as quickly as possible since the next update might be a little slower... so I thought I'd give you all a treat! Might, but might not. I promise I will try!_

_Now that the Frosh Events have finished (though the results are still to be heard of) we can finally get to Orientation, parties, bars, hanging out… oh. Yeah I guess class too. Haha. (just kidding of course) As you've noticed in the last Chapter, Dave has had a mix of weird feelings from Karkat, extending from 'You're alright', to 'I hate you', to 'I can't wait to torment the living hell out of you'. Karkat seems just as sour as ever, and you can bet your last dollar that he is not pleased seeing Mister Strider in his class. Things could get ugly! Or Steamy. We'll just have to see! Hoo hoo~_

* * *

**Chapter 5: Cats and Kittens**

* * *

Orientation was boring. It was stuff we already knew. We basically got our class schedules, were told what was expected of us, the grades we needed to order to pass, our professors name whom I didn't care to remember, etcetera, etcetera, etcetera. Mostly it was a 'let's get to know you' lecture for a good 2 hours. While I tried to pay attention most of the class, part of the time I was distracted by the girl next to me who kept brushing up against me 'by accident'. But most of the time I was distracted, I was glancing across the room at the same guy who was my partner for Frosh. Karkat Vantas. It completely boggled my mind on how in the hell we ended up in the same course. I couldn't imagine this guy being an actor. No way, no how.

Then again, maybe he wasn't in it for acting. Maybe he was in it for directing. That could be interesting. I could easily see him being the type on a power trip and ordering people around. A real stuck up kind of leader. Or, perhaps he was going to branch off in year two to a different kind of performance arts, like music maybe? When he spoke low earlier, he sounded like he _could _have a musical voice, but it still seemed very unlikely in my honest opinion. Performance Arts was more than just acting, so it could be any possibility.

Either way, the irony of fate decided that even though we were practically polar opposites, we would be in the exact same class. It was almost like that whole ordeal with magnets and how opposites attract one another and get stuck together. No matter, this was definitely something that was going to make or break my year here at college. I could stand him during the whole Frosh competition, and when I first saw him I thought it was kind of funny how much of a tightass he was. But those looks he gave me just before he left to shower, it was almost like he wished I would burn in a raging fire. He absolutely hated me. Sure, I'd tormented him a bit, but it was all in good fun. That's what guys do. They tease and pick each other apart. Otherwise what the fuck else would we do to socialize? Do each others hair and talk about the weather? We weren't girls and we most definitely weren't old men yet. Him being a guy, he should know this. It was completely normal.

Then again, John seemed to act friendly towards him to the point of _hugging_ him. Was he the only guy friend Karkat had? If so, no wonder he'd be pissed about being picked on. John was definitely not a real manly man. In fact he-

Huh. Why did that strike me in the middle of orientation and not earlier when I was talking to him? Was John gay? Oh man, this was going to be awkward as hell if he was. I felt myself tug at the collar of my shirt at the thought of it. Clingy and happy, he was red faced when I got out of the shower, standing right outside of the door. Fingers ran through my hair and down the back of my neck rubbing it out of nervousness. If my room-mate was attracted to me, it would be one hell of a scenario to explain when I would ask to have a different roommate. 'Sorry, my roommate is gay and I'm scared he's going to jump me.'

Of course that wasn't really fair of me either. Even if John was attracted to me, or simply just gay, it didn't mean that he would get on my ass and molest me or anything. First of all, John hardly seemed the type to attempt to overpower someone. Second, well I lived with a gay guy. Yup. You heard it ladies and gentleman. My big bro Dirk was gay. Though I'd walked in on some awkward things before, he'd never taken advantage of me nor had I ever seen him take advantage of anyone else. Also we're brothers… incest and all that might have had something to do with it.

But hell, I was a guy and I ogled a nice looking piece of ass whenever the opportunity struck. Sometimes even thought about things that I could do with said ass. The thought of a guy eying me like candy to unwrap kind of bothered me. Maybe I wouldn't ogle as many asses in the future, knowing what it could be like to be on the other end of the gaze.

That was a lie. Of course I'd ogle asses. I'm a dude and I have fucking hormones too.

Ah well, the whole John possibly being gay thing I'd have to figure out later. If it turned out he was I'd simply tell him that I don't swing that way. If he ever wanted some alone time with a guy, let me know and I'd gladly slip out for a while. Dude would need his privacy and all of that.

It still struck me as odd when I came home from high school one day and my bro tried to hook me up with another dude. Weird. How do you politely tell your bro to sail his own ship in his own direction and enjoy manhandling someone else's dick while you live a normal straight life? It was awkward and eventually I had to be upfront with him because he kept dropping hints. Maybe he took it that since I looked up to him so much that I wanted to be everything that he was or something. Yeah, I looked up to him, but I could live without his puppet obsession, his shitty sword collection, and the fact that he has a My Little Pony poster on his wall.

Sorry. Mind went off track there. I ramble a bit when I'm nervous and fuck was I nervous.

The thought about John, the girl next to me making sure her breast was brushing against my arm, and Karkat glaring across the room at me half of the time was sending a cold sweat down the back of my neck. It had to keep it cool though. It could all be dealt with.

The girl next to me was looking less attractive by the second. Probably because her actions to try and get my attention was giving me the impression that she wanted a quick screw in the bathroom and nothing more. Most guys would be all over that shit, but I'm not exactly most guys. I like owning things, not borrowing or throwing out after a one time use. Such a waste really. And when I owned something that meant a lot to me, I didn't damn well share. Having a quick fling with a girl, albeit an attractive one, just wouldn't cut it for me.

But it was damn hard to ignore the softness brushing against my arm.

Again, Karkat kept grabbing my attention. Maybe it was because I knew he was glaring at me. One of those things where you have like a fucking spider sense or something and you just _know_ shit is happening. I could see him sometimes just look out of the corner of his eye at me, other times he would turn full on and glare straight at me. I noted those were usually the times that Mia apparently her name was would make some sort of unbefitting action towards me. I wanted to know what was getting his face in a twist when I casually shrugged it off. Not once did he have something of a positive expression on his face. Determination was about the closest thing to positivity I'd seen from in in the short time we mingled.

"Alright. I'll see you Monday when we can all get started." I heard the professor pipe up. I released a breath of hot air I didn't know I was holding as he dismissed the class with a 'have a good weekend'. I felt like I was cooking. Didn't help that Mia was getting my blood boiling in all the ways I didn't want her to.

Just as I went to stand up, I felt his nimble fingers grab my thigh, and I cautiously glanced at her. Yeah, I could see where this was going and I couldn't help but frown. "So Bad Boy Strider, wanna go have a little tour of our own of the campus? I'm sure we could make things a little more interesting~"

I continued to frown, but lightly brushed her palm away. No. I wouldn't have any of this. Tch. It was such a sin being so good looking sometimes. Yes, I have a bit of an ego. Deal with it. "I've toured enough already thanks." I said, standing up, but heard her chuckle under her breath. I could see shadows of people leaving around me, but paid no attention to them.

"So you've been around the block then, huh?"

"Nope. But I can tell you have."

And there came the pissed look. I hit a nerve. I didn't like digging at girls, but everything about her practically was screaming slut. She was attractive, but considering she'd been trying to get me all hot and bothered all class without knowing more about me than my name and the fact that I can kick open a door definitely meant she was just looking for some sort of pants points. You know, how many pants she'd managed to pull down on guys, not how manly she was. Jegus.

"I won't offer again sweet cheeks. You won't stay cool very long if you don't know who to get in with. And no pun intended darling, you want to get _in_ with _me_."

I rolled my shoulders and backed away from the seat, lightly batting her hand away as she reached. "Sorry babe. I don't like my cats that have had more than a handful of previous owners. Cats are hard enough to train as it is, but having been passed around like the hot fucking potato of kindergarten just means they pick up some bad habits." I saw her frown, but gave a sly smirk. "Besides, if it's passed around that often, it must mean there's a reason no one wants to keep it, am I right?"

I saw the sting coming long before I felt it. The sound echoed in the practically empty auditorium and my face turned away from the bitch who swiped me. I could feel my cheek stinging from the slap, probably going red from how pale I was. I simply gave a bit of a smirk and gently rubbed it, glancing at her ever so slightly as she fumed on the spot. "See? Bad habits. I think we're done here."

"Clearly." She hissed distastefully and started to saunter away, glaring over her shoulder at me before exiting. "Like I said, you won't get a second chance you asshole. Just don't come crying to me when things don't go the way you planned."

"Don't make any bets on that scenario sweetheart." I muttered as she turned on her heel and exiting, slamming the door behind her.

I released a heavy sigh and rubbed my cheek again before noticing someone standing next to me. I quickly turned to Karkat and blinked a few times as he looked at me with the most peculiar expression. He looked like he was in partial disbelief, but at the same time… I couldn't put my finger on it. Pitiful? Forgiving? What? I didn't really get it. Definitely not an expression I had expected from this other pissy cat. We stared for a long moment before I finally decided enough was enough and spoke up. "Problem?"

"You know, that's the third time you've said that to me today. Have anything else original to say, fuckass? He grunted, squinting his eyes a bit at me. He still didn't look as angry as before, but he was building up that sour look again, I could see it.

"I could say the same thing, Karkitty. That's also the third time you called me 'Fuckass'."

He blinked and looked at the ceiling as if counting himself, then frowned again taking a step closer to me, that sour glare building up once more. "First of all, didn't think you counted-"

"Again, could say the same for you." I scoffed.

"Shut the fuck up a second." I rose my hands in mock defeat, letting him finish. "And secondly, don't fucking call me that!"

"But it's cute. I could call you Mercedes Kitty too, but that almost sounds like I'm combining stripper names."

The red face crept up again, blood boiling at my quick tongue and clenched his fists. Oh? Was he going to put up a fight too? He held his breath for a second, then exhaled deeply, bending over as if he held back a remark he didn't dare make. Funny, I couldn't imagine him saying something he would regret. He seemed to be an open thought kind of guy. "What the fuck is UP with you?" he hissed. I waved my index finger in a circle, as if I was rewinding what I've said twice now, and this would make it my third. You know, 'I could say the same about you'. Maybe three times was a charm? He batted my hand to stop my epic rewinding and I pouted. Clearly I wasn't allowed to say or motion anything on this matter.

"You're constantly making me change my mind about you. You piss me off, then work with me, then degrade and insult me, then let some bimbo bitch feel you up all orientation. It was sickening to watch you let her be all over you like that, I'm surprised no one else fucking puked in their mouth." I opened my mouth to retort, but he held up a finger to silence me. I shrugged and leaned back against the desk behind me, removing my hand from my pulsing cheek. No words from Strider. Maybe if I let him barf out his annoyances he'd pry the fork out of his ass.

"I thought you were just another fucking hipster frat boy until I saw you put her in her God Damned place." He paused, looking a bit more serious than angry, maybe even confused a bit. I cocked an eyebrow at him, daring to lower my shades from my eyes to let him also see I was confused on what the fuck he was saying. No. I wasn't all about beating the living shit out of the smaller guy and get piss loaded and fuck anything that would open it's legs to me. I wasn't that kind of person. It made me a bit mad that he would even consider me being a part of that kind of crowd. Then again, Mia thought I would fit right in. The ego probably didn't help, but it was kind of a Strider thing.

His eyes went to the floor, looking almost defeated as he tried to gather his thoughts. I waited patiently so he could come up with the right thing to say. "I thought you were going to follow her to whatever corner she could shove you in and screw her brains out. That pissed me off because I didn't think you were that kind of guy at the beginning, then I did, but after you pissed her off I didn't again…" Then a full force glare as he slapped a hand on his chest. Back to angry Karkat. "Then you use the cat reference at me too, you asshole! With a stripper joke too! What, you think I'm somewhere on her fucking level!?"

He seethed on the spot for a long moment as the words sunk in, but I simply stood silent, watching as his chest heaved with each breath he took, and his inhales seeming to get sharper with each passing moment. "Well!? What, you have nothing to say to that!?"

"Oh. I'm allowed to talk again. Right."

He fumed and turned, stomping towards the exit to the auditorium. "Oh, whatever. You're a waste of fucking air!"

A sharp pain went through my gut as I saw him turning to leave. Something told me that this was bad, that I couldn't just let him leave with his head fuming like this. Why, I didn't know. I shouldn't give two shits about what he thought about me, and I definitely shouldn't care about how he felt. But it was as if time itself slowed down and there was some sort of dark feeling that told me if I didn't stop him now, I would regret it down the road.

I was quick to jump over the desk and race behind him, pulling the door shut as I caged him from behind. He froze and turned to glare at me, but I simply grabbed his arm and swung him behind me so that he wouldn't try to leave again, but held onto him to make sure he didn't run. I could see his eyes sharpen with something along the lines of fear as I pushed him back and forced him to sit down in a seat, placing my arm on the desk so he couldn't escape. He wasn't running away again, and I damn well was going to have my say now that he was allowing it.

But he looked like a frightened deer in the headlights. It was kind of weird. Did he think I was going to hurt him? I could see him trying to keep the angry look on his face, but it was faltering. If he was going into acting, he definitely needed to work on it. "S-Strider- this isn't fucking funny!"

I pulled my shades off of my eyes, setting them down on the desk and looking at him as seriously as I could muster. "Look. I think we're having some sort of misunderstanding or something here. You wanted me to shut my trap, so I did. I was simply waiting for you to let me say what I wanted to say." I saw him gnawing his teeth, but looked away in frustration. "I'm a sarcastic asshole and I'm the younger brother to the King of Irony."

"Really." He grumbled, crossing his arms. "Does he have a crown?"

"Nope." I grinned. He was catching on. "No one ever thought a ceremony was needed since it should have been fucking obvious he was king with a crown."

He rolled his eyes, looking up at me again. "Get on with it Strider. This is fucking awkward."

"Can do." I nodded, releasing him from the cage, but jumping up to sit on the desk. He looked towards me but made no move to run this time, blinking as he waited for me to have my say. "I might be an egotistical asshole, but I'm not like those kind of guys. I like parties, I like to torment people but most guys do. Clearly this isn't your cup of tea but I doubt I could stop." I chuckled a bit. "It's fun to get a rise out of you to be blatantly honest."

"Getting ready to leave, Strider. If you have something meaningful to say, you better fucking say it." He growled. I simply grinned at him, tilting my head.

"If anything, you're the one I can't figure out, Karkat." He looked surprised as I said this, raising an eyebrow. "You act all tough and cold, but really you're just a little kitten, aren't you?" He jumped up and glared down at me. Were those fighting words or something for him? Jegus he was sensitive. I waved a hand quickly. "I think you're taking this the wrong way."

"I really don't think I am. I'm not like 'those guys' or that bitch. I'm not a fucking pet!"

"I didn't say you were." Again, he looked a bit surprised, so I offered him a shrug. "You come off as a pissed off arsewipe that can't figure out if his favorite color is black or blue-"

"Black is a shade you dumbfuck."

"Mine turn to start shushing you. Now shush." I said, waving a finger in front of his face before he batted it away just like the kitten I called him out to be. "Think about what I said to her for a second. A cat that had been manhandled by many previous owners who must have had a reason for not being able to keep one. Though your name specifically has the animal's name in it, I'm refusing to call you a cat, but rather a kitten."

"So I'm a child?" he scoffed, the glare intensifying as he squinted his eyes at me.

"No. More like fresh." I paused after I said it as I saw his jaw drop slightly and his face heat up. "Whoa, okay. Not like that. Wow, that came out wrong." I said, rubbing the back of my neck as he stood dumbfounded, and for a change didn't seem to have much to say to me in return. "Ugh. Okay to put simply, I don't think you're a slut since you were insinuating that I was insinuating that. You probably haven't been around the block and… hm." I put a hand to my mouth in thought. How could I said it without sounding like **_too much_** of an asshole?

"Well. I'm taking acting. And you're here in Performance Arts too. Not sure which way you plan to go next year, but what the hell, I'm just going to take the journey down this road because I have the feeling that if I don't say shit, you're going to talk out that door and avoid the fuck out of me."

"And why would that matter?"

"Dunno. Just my gut tells me it would."

"Your gut is weird. You shouldn't give a fuck."

"I know. My brain as told it that many a time but it tends to be right and do the whole 'bitch I told you so' thing."

"You might want to get that check out. Guts shouldn't have mouths to taunt you with."

"I think I'm starting to like you." Again, he paused, but jolted up and backed away after a second. I found my face in my palm after a second, waving my free hand. He thought I meant _that_ way? Augh. Come on people, I wasn't gay! "Not like that. I mean like as a bro."

"A bro…" he said dully, but still looking a bit unsure if I really meant that or not.

"You confuse the fuck out of me and I too have had a roller coaster of opinions about you today, but right here, having this conversation with you right now, I feel like there's more to you than a pissed off person who has barbed wire shoved so far up their ass it's coiled several times and it coming back out."

"You don't really paint very pleasant pictures Strider."

"Look. I'm usually a pretty good judge of character, and I think you're the hardest person I've had to try and figure out. That whole saying 'don't judge a book by it's cover'? I'm starting to get that feeling from you, that there's something more to you than you let on."

He cringed a bit and tore his gaze away, looking down to the podium where the teacher stood earlier. "You don't really know the first fucking thing about me, Strider."

"I'm playing a broken record, dude. I could say the exact same fucking thing, you know."

There was a long moment of silence between us as we stared hard at each other. I was waiting to see what kind of outburst he would have, if any. Karkat on the other hand seemed to be studying me as if he was trying to paint a new picture of me than he already had painted. What could I say, I felt like I had to do the same. He didn't seem so bad after all, as long as you got past the point that perhaps his cold foul-mouthed shoulder might have been a way to protect himself.

He was a kitten acting like a lion. I had a feeling that he tried to push people away with that sour attitude, and maybe there was a reason behind it. That's why I felt a connection to him being a kitten, and not a full blown hand me down cat.

Seconds ticked by and still no answer came from the second party. Did he not have anything to say? "Well…?" I asked, sitting up a slightly to straighten myself.

It was then a the smallest grin spread across his face and he leaner forward ever so slightly, being an ironic asshole that I would start to get along with now that we were singing a similar tune. "Oh. I'm allowed to talk now. Right."

I laughed, snatching my shades up and shoving them back over my eyes before hopping off of the desk and stretching. Once more, my gut prevailed in doing the right thing. Coming into the orientation today, I had nothing but ill-feelings towards Karkat, and now here I was, pulling out my cell phone and casting him a glance. "Give me your number, Mother Fucker."

He blanched, waving a hand at me for a second and pretending to walk off. "No fucking way am I letting you add me and putting some trashy rap as my ringtone. Forget it."

"Oh, come on. Be a bro!" I laughed, hooking him like I had earlier in the day and messing up his soft hair. He scowled and hissed, but not nearly as uptight as before. "Come on, Karkles. Be a bro and give me your number!"

"Why the FUCK would you want my number, Assfuck?"

"That's four times now. Also to text you and annoy the living fuck out of you. Also to invite you over with John so we can have bro times and watch his insanely bad movies."

"I said Assfuck, not Fuckass. That's only the first time! Is your think-pan malfunctioning? And dear fucking Jegus, he brought his horrific movies with him? No! I'm out! I'm so out of this fry-pan of dumbassery that I'll go the point of crushing my own God Damn phone!"

"Nooo. Why would you do such a thing?" I grinned and reached in his pocket. He jolted as I invaded even more of his personal space, and snatched his phone, pulling it out and holding it over my head.

"The fuck, Strider!? Give that back!" He yelped reaching for his phone.

"Oh hell no, this is happening!" I grinned and pointed the phone down at us while he clawed upwards for it, and blinded the shorter guy with the flash. He backed off a second and rubbed at his eyes while I jumped on top of the desk, punching in my name and number into his contacts, saving the selfie photo of the two of us as the display picture for yours truly.

"Why the fuck would you take a picture of us?"

"For my display. So that way when you go to text or call me, you'll remember we have something of a love-hate relationship." I said with a grin.

He growled and pulled himself up on the desk, once more reaching for the phone as I danced around him in attempt to not fall off of it. However, fate would have it that balance one of these things, not meant for standing on whatsoever was hard to come by and of course I slipped and fell, Karkat coming right down with me. The smaller guy landed face first into my chest while I landed not so softly on my back. Sure it hurt a bit, but this was nothing compared to evening strife with my bro. I laughed as he collected himself and pulled his face from my shirt, glaring for a second before looking flustered as fuck, glancing away. "You did that on purpose."

"Sure sure. Whatever you say." I shrugged, adjusting my shades.

He quickly snatched his phone from my palm, snapping it shut and pointing it at the bridge of my nose threateningly. Oooo~ scarey. "You realize I could just delete this, right?" he said, cocking an eyebrow at me.

I simply grinned and sat up, getting closer to his face and let my shades slide down my nose a little more. The red in his cheeks was amusing, I liked seeing it. It meant I got under his skin. "You could. But I really don't think you will."

"Wanna bet, dick-for-brains? I don't even like you." He grumbled, eyebrows pointing downward as he stood up from straddling my lap, brushing himself down.

I too stood up, stretching and heading towards the door while I rubbed my slightly sore backside. "Maybe not. But you don't_ hate_ me. I think that's good enough." I cast him a small smirk as I grabbed the door and glanced over my shoulder at him for a moment. He looked perplexed, it was a nice look to him. "I know you'll do what's in your best interest, Karkat. So I'm sure I'll hear from you before the weekend is out." I gave an open thumbed peace-wave to him before pushing through the door and heading down the hallway.

I could see it now. He'd open up his phone to delete his new contact and not only see the picture of us so damn close and awkwardly, but see that the contact name I left for him was not Strider like he insisted on calling me, aside from Fuckass. But simply Dave. He'd stare at the contact info for a while before snapping it shut and deciding he had better things to do and would deal with it later.

But his dealing would likely come in him finally texting me, because I had a feeling that we had some sort of a bond now that he didn't want to admit was there.

I could live with this.


	6. Chapter 6: Hidden Agenda

_Huzzah~ Another update. Sorry this one took much longer than the previous ones. Packing as well as a touch of flu has kept me away from the computer. Flu is gone, and I'm officially moved into my new apartment with one of my best friends and her husband! My room needs more personalization and homestuck references. Haha.J_

_On another note, things are going to start taking a bit of a turn here in the next few chapters, and things will finally move along. I swear there will be a valid plot point aside from 'these guys go to college' pretty soon, but you might not even notice me sliding things in. In fact, perhaps I've already dropped a few subtle hints? Hoo hoo!~_

_Read and review~ thanks!_

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**Chapter 6: Hidden Agenda**

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The walk back to the dorm was rather uneventful. Thank fuck I never ran into Mia again, she probably hauled some other arsehole out of the hallway and had some hanky panky in the nearest closet. Kind of pathetic if you thought about it, that she was so desperate for attention she'd throw herself at any cute guy who was willing. Such a sin.

Upon reaching my room, I went to swipe my key card but the door opened up before I could, forcing me to back up. What waited for me on the other wise was a bit if a surprise actually, the back of a girl about my height, firm shoulders, and that same jet black hair with the cobalt blue streaks. What the hell was Vriska doing in our room? Her back was to me, so she had yet to notice me standing there. I simply slumped my shoulders and shoved my hand sin my pockets as I waited for her to turn around.

"Just keep that in mind, Egbert. Vriska will straighten your back out and get you ahead. Don't worry, I got your back." She called inside before turning around quickly. She froze just as quickly and blinked, backing up a bit and placing a hand over her heart. "Dear Jegus fuck, Strider! How long have you been standing there!?"

"Long enough to hear you two having sex in my shower. It was a bit awkward." I shrugged.

The grin that plastered on her face after looked a bit over confident as she crossed her arms and flipped her hair out of her eyes. She definitely did have a firm back. It spoke a lot about her if you thought about it. Just her attitude and stature said so much about the kind of person she was. Determined, but could potentially be a dangerous enemy as the same time. "It was actually on your bed. Egbert is surprisingly a stud."

"Now that's fucking rude." I cocked an eyebrow, taking her sarcasm with a grain of salt as I heard John fluster inside and flee to the door, spearing right behind Vriska. Heh. He was shorter than her.

"D-Dave! No! It's not what you think! We didn't-!"

"Woooooooow John. You really need to work on your irony skills. And you two are going to be rooming together?" she asked, raising an eyebrow at the shorter, now red-faced male.

"Unfortunately." I sighed in mock depression, earning a bit of a pout from John. Man. Part of me wondered what the two of them had talked about to get him so flustered, but another part of me decided I really didn't give two shits, as long as they didn't _really_ have sex on my bed while I was gone. There would be war. My attention turned back to Vriska as she continued to grin at John. "And what are you doing here anyways?"

She grinned at me, running her fingers through her hair before she flipped it again, her back as straight as ever. "That is none of your God-Damned business, is it Strider?"

I shrugged. "Making idle conversation as you awkwardly back out of my dorm room with Egbert's face looking like it's on fire is about all I can do right now to wipe images of you two doing it doggy style in my room."

"Fuck that. I ride."

"Huh." Was all I managed to utter as I saw John's face hit a new shade of red I don't think I'd ever seen on a person before. Was she hitting on Egbert of all people? Now that was rich. I half wondered what it was that had Vriska so interested in my room-mate. Perhaps she was just here to rub salt on the wounds on our team beating theirs. Still, she didn't know John, so how the hell did she wind up here? It seemed weird, out of place. It was suspicious, but I didn't think I really had anything to be worried about on my part. John on the other hand might be another story.

"Anyways, I was just making my leave. Egbert, Strider." She nodded, shoving one hand in her pocket as she spun on her heel, casting a casual wave over her shoulder.

I watched her saunter off for a moment before turning back to my flushed room-mate, pulling my shades down the bridge of my nose to look at him skeptically. My curiosity had definitely been caught for this little… intrusion. Just what would Serket want with Egbert? They weren't even on the same team. The only connection she had to him was that I was rooming with him and so was Jade, and all three of us happened to be on the same team. Still, why would her own interest even direct towards John in the first place? Still, from the flustered look John was giving me, I had to make a jab. It would be un-ironic of me not to. "Please tell me it wasn't on the table. We have to eat off of that, Egbert. Really."

John turned to me, his blue eyes sharp as ever. "We didn't have sex, Dave! So pleaaaase just drop the subject!"

"Did she reject you or something? It happens dude."

John bit his lip and spun back towards our room, slamming the door behind him. I could see the redness in his face. Haha, was I on the money? Nah. My gut said I wasn't. It was something different and I just probably embarrassed the hell out of him. I waited a moment outside of the door before grinning and pulling my swipe card from my pocket, unlocking the door with ease. Egbert wasn't too far away, in fact he looked shocked for a second that I was able to get in. That is he did until I showed him my swipe card. The poor guy found his reddened face in his palms with a bit of a whimper.

"Sorry, Egbert. I'll lay off the assholery for a bit."

"Thank you…" he mumbled into his hands before padding over the refrigerator and grabbing a soda. I caught the fridge door before it closed and snatched up a bottle of apple juice, cause let's face it. Apple juice is the shit. You can't deny that in elementary school when given the choice between milk and apple juice that you wanted the sweetness that came in a cardboard box rather than the mess everyone else blew bubbles into not understanding that milk fucking foams and spilled all over their desk. You know you've tried that once too. Don't deny it.

John plopped down at the kitchen table with his soda, still looking a bit flustered and frustrated. I really shouldn't shove my nose into his business, but hell, the look on his face was pretty much begging me to get into his business. I had to figure out what the hell was going on. Clearly something interesting had come up, and John was looking a little too shy to talk first. I took a seat across from him and leaned against the table, still looking at him from overtop of my shades. "So?" I asked as he looked away from me. "What was that all about? "

"It doesn't really matter, Dave."

I sighed, pulling my shades completely off and setting them aside. "Dude. I'm not prying to make fun of you. It just find it odd that someone like Vriska would suddenly follow you back to our dorm. She's cool and all, but she's kind of pushy." Eh. How to word it without sounding like an asshole…? "I guess I'm just worried she might be… I dunno. Trying to get you in her grip or something?"

John frowned across the table at me. I didn't think the twirp had it in him to be able to muster such a look, but apparently I was wrong. "She's not really that bad Dave."

"I know man. She was on my team. But… in the short time that I spent with her, I could also see she was… manipulative. She was pretty good at directing Jade into doing things she wasn't comfortable with. But in the end it kind of made Jade try harder and gave Tez and Fef a run for their money." I laughed a bit, popping the top off of my bottle and taking a swig of the sweet sustenance of AJ. Wiping my mouth I peered across the table at John again, offering him a bit of a grin. "I'm not really sure what she's all about, but I just found it kind of… odd I guess? You two don't seem like the type of people who would get along. Plus, besides Jade and I being on her team, she has no connection with you. So… what's up?"

John fidgeted a little at the table, going to take a drink of his soda before realizing that he had yet to open it. He flustered more, snapped it open and took a careful drink before glancing away. "I'll be honest when I say I don't really know what she wanted."

"Oh…?" now that was weird. He didn't know? What was all that about her watching his back and all? Then again, it didn't seem like he was lying either.

"She just kinda came marching up the hallway and pounded on the door, demanding for me to let her in. When I did she pretty much just lectured me for a while for being scrawny and having no guts or something. But… we got along that way I guess?"

"I'm sorry, that's weird." I blinked. She came and harassed him and they became friends? That didn't really make any sense.

"She and Jade were talking a lot I guess… I dunno what Jade told her but apparently enough that she feels like I need a straighter back or something."

"You kind of do though, Egbert." John looked up and blinked at me, looking a little puzzled. "No offense, but you look like a pushover. People take advantage of that sort of thing." My eyes hit the table and avoided contact with him, not really finding anything interesting to focus on, but then again, I didn't really want to focus on anything either. "If you have some sort of weakness, people will use it against you. But if you manage to show them that you don't care, they tend to leave you alone. Don't let them see a weakness."

What John said next I was never prepared for… it was such an innocent question, but it struck home unlike anything I'd heard in a long time. "Is that why you wear those sunglasses, Dave? To make sure people can't see your weaknesses?"

I sat dumbfounded for a long moment at his words. As innocent as they were, they still struck home like one wouldn't believe. I could feel his eyes on me, waiting to hear exactly what I had to say in regards to his question. However, after that moment of silence I picked up the shades and slid them back onto my nose, looking over them with a grin. "Nah. These are just too cool not to wear. Kind of a signature Strider thing, you know?"

A blatant lie, but I didn't want Egbert prying into my life. It was my business, and I wanted to keep it that way. Nobody else needed to get involved in it. John just stared at me for a moment before offering a bit of a shrug, a small goofy smile playing across his face. "I... kind of figured you would say something like that." He laughed a bit, but seemed to be coming back around. He smiled brightly from across the table, holding the cold can of soda tightly in his palms. "But honestly, I don't think she's that bad! Just a little misunderstood?"

I nodded in response, sitting up and stretching. "Welp, so long as you understand that she understands my rules when visiting, then I don't really care." I eyed him carefully before I stood up. "I just think you should be careful, is all."

"Aw Dave, are you worried about me?" John said in an almost sing-song voice. It was enough to make me cringe.

"Not particularly." I grumbled before heading towards my room. However, I stopped abruptly when I remembered John had called out to me earlier when I left for orientation. "Oh, right." I spun back around to look at John through the tint of my glasses again. "What was it you wanted earlier?"

"Huh?" he looked surprised.

"When I left for orientation. You hollered to me on my way out… what was it you wanted?"

He looked puzzled for a long moment as he stared at me. Seriously, I was on my way out the door and he called to me, but I blew him off cause I had to get to orientation. I tapped my foot once, basically to say 'any day now, Egbert' as he seemed to be scrambling to remember what it was he was going to say. However, after a moment, a look of realization ran across his face, but he simply knocked on his head once and stuck out his tongue. "I… I completely forget what I was going to say!" he laughed, but somehow, I wasn't buying it. He was a terrible actor.

"You _forget…?_"

"Y-yeah. I must have forgotten between trying to shower up and fleeing to orientation. I was late for it after all… kind of gave a bad impression to my professors." He pouted. That part seemed genuine, but he was avoiding saying what it was he was trying to say to me before, I just knew it. I narrowed my eyes a bit at him, then finally shrugged. Ah well, it couldn't have been too important anyways.

"As long as you didn't dump my shit down the drain when you stumbled in the shower, then it's fine."

"N-no! Your stuff is fine, I promise!" he said, beaming up at me.

"Well, if you remember what it was you wanted to ask me, I'll be in my room." I jerked a thumb over to my door before making my way over to it, shutting it behind me. I didn't hear any movement behind me, so John must have been sitting in thought, or finishing up his soda.

What a day this had been. Met a few people I could consider friends, one whom I basically forced into some hate-friendship or something, and avoided my sister all day. On top of that I also made one enemy out of Mia-slut-face, and one hell of a first impression on the rest of my classmates. John, Jade, Terezi, Vriska, and Karkat… things were looking pretty good for the first day here, and classes hadn't even officially begun.

I flopped on my bed, rolling over lazily on my back to stare at the white ceiling again, glaring at it through my shades. I hated it. If I could paint it, I would. For now though, I would suffer with exchanging glares with it until I got some posters or something to stick to it. I checked my phone only once before deciding it was far too early to expect any sort of retaliation, placing it on my nightstand with my shades with it. I figured I might as well catch a few Z's before dinner. Who knew what sort of shenanigans I'd be up to later that night after all.

The next few days passed without much interesting happening. Rose texted me a few times asking if I wanted to meet up, to which I thoroughly explained that my agenda was far more tight than hers and even in my free time, I wasn't free. She probably wanted to nag about something, being the sarcastic gripe she could be. Loved her to death, but I'm sure you know that siblings squabble like seagulls. 'Cawcaw motherfucker, dinner is here! Wait, I said it was here! But it's mine.' I like birds to some extent, but those buzzards always confused the fuck out of me.

Anyways, way off on a tangent there. Classes officially started and while we didn't win first place during Frosh week, we did score just slightly better than John and Terezi's team, so mission accomplished. Karkat seemed to have a high and mighty attitude for a while until he realized all too soon Terezi didn't really give a shit, mostly poking fun at him in any other way she could. He was too easy to do this to, so I couldn't really blame her for tormenting the living hell out of him.

We'd started hanging out together in the courtyard after classes and just shooting the shit together under the oak tree, much to my internal relief to be out of the blasted sun. The group usually consisted of Tez, John, Jade, Vriska whom latched onto us like a vampire, Karkat and myself. I never really saw that Sollux guy or that Feferi girl since Frosh Day. This just happened to be a Friday afternoon where we could casually greet our first weekend, and enjoy not having to crawl out of bed at ungodly hours such as 8am. Staying up late and sleeping in sounded like a plan to me.

The others however seemed to have other ideas.

"So it's our first official weekend. We should do something together." Vriska was the one who brought this idea up with that mischievous grin that masked her face. It always looked like she was plotting something dark, but John kept re-assuring me that she was totally not as bad as I thought.

Speaking of John, he was the first to pounce on the idea. "That sounds like an awesome idea! Maybe we could explore the city together!" he looked ecstatic.

Terezi however looked less than enthused as she pursed her lips. She also seemed to have the same opinion on Vriska as I did. She just didn't seem the type to be trusted. However, she was looking at John with a cocked eyebrow, and not at Vriska's suggestion to hang out. "Laaame." She grumbled rolling her eyes as she sat against the tree. "John, our first weekend away parents, no classes, less limitations and a hell of a lot more freedom, and you want to _explore_?"

"Nothing wrong with exploring." Came Vriska's sharp tongue.

Terezi ignored her. "We should do something crazy! Something wild! Just because Frosh week is over, that doesn't mean we have to let amazing opportunities slip through our fingers!"

Jade's chiming laughter caught everyone's attention. She was just too cute like that. "I can't really say something crazy in on my list of things I want to do. Why don't we just have a get together and try to get to know one another a bit better?" Interesting. Get to know one another, huh? That definitely caught my attention. Our time to hang out after classes was limited, so having some sort of way to get to know each other would be nice. As much as I had gotten to know John, there was a lot about the others I was curious about, but didn't want to bring up. There was just no cool way to bring up your autobiography in conversation.

"Ah, maybe we can work with that." Vriska's sly grin came back, crossing her arms over her chest as she took a firm step forward, making sure she stood in the middle of us all to catch our attention. "Then I hereby proclaim that tonight will be our first official hangout. I'll take charge of this one. Just meet up at my place at 9:00pm. 187 Mapleton Avenue."

"You don't live in residence, Vriska?" John piped up, curiosity flooding his eyes.

Vriska simply grinned at him, but didn't give him a verbal answer. "I'm hearing no objections."

"Why at your place?" Terezi said skeptically.

"You'll see when you get there." Is all Vriska replied with, casting her a daring grin. Tez simply bit her lip and held her tongue. She probably didn't want to get on the wrong foot with her, but we had both long discussed our discomfort with Vriska and just how manipulative she could be. It made us edgy. She was someone you didn't want to be on the receiving end of her shenanigans.

Knowing this, I personally didn't want to make an enemy out of her so I simply rolled my shoulders and shoved my hands in my pocket. "I'm cool with this. Party at Vriska's then." I smirked and watched at others agreed, John and Jade seeming ecstatic and Tez begrudgingly agreeing to go. After a moment though, John piped up again, completely catching me off guard.

"Karkat, you've been awfully quiet."

Fuck. He really had been. I blinked and turned to look at him with his arms crossed, that same sour pout he seemed to wear oh so well as always, avoiding eye contact with everyone. He grumbled something under his breath, raising his shoulders more ever so lightly. John had a point though. He was usually mouthing off at us at a constant and here he was suddenly… quiet. It seemed a little un-natural. "Wow. You're right John. Hell must have froze over. Karkat's mouth is firmly shut."

"Fuck you, Strider." He hissed, once more raising his shoulders more and being more of a grump than usual.

"I retract my former statement. Just has a chill." I pulled my shades down my nose a bit to glance at him from over them, but he didn't react whatsoever. I half wondered what crawled up his ass and died now.

"Are you alright, Karkat?" John's squeaked a bit.

"I'm fiiine." He hissed, glaring off at something.

"You're coming then, aren't you?" Jade cast him a pleading look, only to have his expression sour more.

"It's a stupid idea." He mumbled.

Vriska simply grinned and leaned over to Karkat, flicking his nose. He hissed but bit his lip to prevent himself from having some sort of outburst. Rare. "You know you're coming."

"I'd like to see you make me." He finally looked to her. The tension between them was tense for a moment. Terezi visibly paled at his response, but Karkat seemed unmoved.

"It-It's not that big of a deal if he doesn't come, Vriska." John piped up, stepping towards her and placing a hand on her shoulder.

She simply cast him something of a determined grin over her shoulder. "No no, it won't be the same if we're not all together. Karkat has to be there. Being a stick in the mud isn't exactly going to to help him get closer to any of us."

"And I care?" Karkat grumbled again, sounding almost half-hearted. Ouch man. I was about to go on a speil about how I was hurting way down deep inside by that statement ironically, but Vriska simply gave a smirk unlike I'd seen on her yet, leaned forward and breathed something in his ear. I wish I could say that I heard or saw his lips move, but she was smart to cup her mouth around his ear.

Suddenly his eyes went wide, then slowly glared at her, his hands tense. She pulled away and smirked at him. "So, you'll be there?"

It took him a long moment, but finally he swallowed what seemed to be a lump in his throat and gave a heavy nod. And this was why Terezi and I didn't want to be on Vriska's bad side. She'd definitely said something to manipulate or blackmail him, and we did not want to be put on the spot like he just was.

Still, I couldn't help but wonder just what it was that was making Karkat act so different compared to normal. He was being quiet and distant. Maybe I'd ask him about it later. Not like he'd tell me, but at least it would throat him a hint that we noticed he was acting weird compared to his normal self. For now, I had to get directions to Vriska's, who was more than happy to give them out and was also insisting none of us showed up until 8:00pm. She was planning something.

We just didn't know what yet…


	7. Chapter 7: Playing Games

_Another (2) weeks have gone by and another update has come around. Archane is settled into her apartment and still wishing I had a bed not so close to the floor, but hey. I have a bigger room!Work has flipped me for a loop and I'm working my exact opposite shift that I normally do, leaving me drained by the time I make it home. I have been lounging around, reading web comics, attempting some artwork and painting some household items for us. Like a bucket. _

_Painted it black with the grey cancer symbol on it to hold my kitchen utensils. My room-mates suggestion who isn't even a FAN of homestuck but she knows I am._

Next is the stool. Muahaha. ANYWAYS.

_Truthfully I didn't want to end the chapter where I did last time, but I had already made you all wait long enough, so I chose to cut it off there and get it up so that you weren't waiting another half of a week, as I went on vacation for a few days right after my move, which involved me leaving with no internet for a few days. So now I'll pick up where we left off and continue. Last we left Dave, Vriska somehow scared Karkat into attending her little group get together at her place, but we all know she's plotting something. What on Earth could it be? Hoo hoo. I guess you'll have to read and find out!_

_Also check it out! I managed to do up some quick cover art for the story! I have it posted on my Tumblr and Deviantart too =) hopefully more to come in terms of artness later!_

_Also I apologize… this chapter is the longest so far, so I hope you understand why this one took so long... AND I had to cut it short AGAIN. My original draft for this chapter was supposed to happen in Chapter 3! That just tells you how much I've been pushing back and adding along the way. Heh._

_And FINAL warning, this chapter gets a bit… sexy and vulgar at the same time. You'll see. Just remember this is rated MATURE for a reason! Hee hee._

* * *

**Chapter 7: Playing Games**

* * *

"No John. No. You're not showing up looking like that." I mumbled while looking at my room-mate who was looking like the dorkiest dork who'd ever dorked again. I was assuming the blue t-shirt he chose was his failed attempt to be a hipster, but all around just made me cringe at his fashion statement of 'Put the bunny back in the box' t-shirt.

His bottom lip jutted out like a child who had just been scolded, but put a foot forward. "Oh, come on, Dave! It's not bad!"

"No, it really is. That movie is terrible and referencing it like it's the greatest thing ever is twice as bad as the movie. It's not even ironic."

"But I'm not the ironic one." He pouted again. This was true, but he was still not making a very good statement for himself by wearing such a thing. Then again, maybe referencing such a distasteful movie in such a way might actually be ironic. Ironic that he seemed to like it, and no one else did. Mixed feelings were happening here.

Eventually I shrugged, shoving my hands in my jeans pockets. "Whatever… I'll have you wearing something better by the end of the semester though."

"I'll hold you to it." John laughed. He was really too carefree for his own good. He carefully pulled his high school jacket overtop and adjusted his glasses before focusing on putting his cheap branded sneakers on.

I'd chose to wear a plaid black, white and red zip up hoodie with a t-shirt underneath that stated to keep calm and not rage quit in white with black text. This was completely for Karkat's sake as I had a feeling he'd try and weasel out of tonight's get together in any way he possible could. He seemed damned reluctant to go tonight, but somehow Vriska had coaxed him otherwise. I had to learn her ways, as smoothly as possible. I mean I had my ways too, but that usually involved making a scene since Karkat had a protective bubble around him, and once someone invaded that bubble, you better watch the fuck out cause he cursed like a sailor and flailed like a turtle on its back. Of course I wore some worn looking black jeans and I'd never go anywhere without my shades. It made no sense not to. Everyone knew about my albino gene and red eyes, but it didn't really matter. I just felt naked without them.

At any rate, it was best if we got the show on the road. Vriska would threaten to castrate us if we were even a second too late for her little gathering. Her controlling ways worked, and as much as it kind of pissed me off, at the same time it got the job done, so I shouldn't really complain. After all, she coaxed Vantas to come. That took talent.

I slid on my sneakers and watched as John stumbled through the door, once more adjusting his glasses. He was grinning from ear to ear as always as I tied my sneakers. "Come on, Dave. Vriska will have our asses if we don't hurry~" he laughed.

I rolled my eyes and quickly followed him through the door, making sure to shut it tight behind me. I flicked the handle ones just to make sure the auto lock still worked. Hey, I didn't want people sneaking into my dorm and stealing my shit. It just wasn't happening. If the years of Stride with Dirk had taught me anything, it was that if you messed with a Strider's shit, there would be hell to pay. Once the handle didn't move, I nodded back at it as if silently tell it to kick the ass of any curious eyes and stalked behind John, who seemed much bubblier than I thought he should be.

The walk was mostly uneventful. A few stray sets of eyes watched at John practically skipped ahead of me and once eyes started wandering, I started to fall back, hoping people didn't associate me with someone so over-energetic. Of course this would backfire on me when John would stop and shout to me to hurry up just grabbing more attention, so I had to sulk towards him with my shoulders high. I liked being the center of attention at specific times… this was clearly not one of them.

While I clearly did not hate John, our differences were definitely enough to make me want to shy away from him every now and then. Right now he was acting so flamboyant, I couldn't help but continue to wonder what his orientation was. I half thought about just outright asking him, but that might put a damper on the mood, and also could potentially make the rest of the year rooming with him awkward. As long as he didn't touch the merchandise, I guess it was cool.

"You seem overly excited." I finally piped up as we walked down the street. It was starting to get dark, meaning if we didn't find Vriska's place soon, we'd be in deep shit.

John spun on his heel and walked backwards, stumbling only once before casting his signature goofy grin. "Well… what can I say? I'm looking forward to seeing everyone!"

"We see each other every day…"

"Yeah, at the school. But I mean outside of school."

"Do you really think it'll be that different?" I was skeptical.

He couldn't help but grin a bit. "Well, Vriska is hosting the get together."

"I'm well aware. I'm also frightened for my manly parts should we get lost and not show up on time."

His hands went behind his head as he continued to walk backwards, pouting at me a little. "Come on, Dave. Vriska isn't that bad. I think you judge her too harshly."

I rolled my shoulders in response. It wasn't hard for anyone to tell that I didn't exactly match Vriska's stride in the way she handled things, but she honestly confused me. It was hard to tell exactly what kind of a person she was. Half of the time I had a decent opinion of her, half of the time I couldn't stand the thought of being near her. John seemed to think she was the best, and for some reason this put me off. Maybe I was afraid she'd yank his chain around and use and abuse him, then I'd have to listen to it. Who knew? "I think you're too soft sometimes."

"Nah. Not soft. I just look at bothsides of the coin."

"Turning into Terezi now?"

He laughed. "No. Just being honest."

"Pole."

"What-"

And with a cringe and a _'twang'_, John Egbert found his ass on the ground as he backed up hard into a lamppost and found himself laying face first on the ground. I stopped and cocked an eyebrow, looking over the top of my shades at him. He rose his head, looking a little disoriented for a second, then laughed nervously as he reached for my hand, and I helped him to his feet.

"All right, I get it. Watch where I'm going." He laughed, but offered a different kind of smile at me. It made me a bit nervous, just how soft it looked. "But that doesn't mean I won't explore every now and then. If you stay on the straight road, I guess you'll get to your destination, but there's so much you will miss along the way. It's nice to break from the path every now and then, Dave."

"_Straight_ path, huh?" I mumbled.

He blinked. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing. Where are we?" I brushed off the subject and glanced around for a street sign. It was getting hard to see with my shades on and with it being twilight now, but I certainly didn't want to yank them off. I finally found one and took a few steps forward, finding exactly what I was looking for. "Mapleton. So where is 187?" I looked around, finding 165, then started walking down the street, eying house numbers. No fucking way was I going to be late. Not even ironically.

Only after passing one house did I hear John speak up suddenly. "Uhm, Dave?" I glanced over my shoulder. "Don't you think this is a little weird?"

"You're just cluing into that now? Vriska seemed to be awfully pushy on us going to her place…"

"Well, that's not quite what I meant…"

"Egbert, please be more specific."

"Well… uhm. That house." My gaze following to where John was pointing and noticed her was pointing at a large white Victorian style house with some sort of stone fencing around it. Probably some filthy rich people who rented out their house to students to live in. At least that was my train of thought until John pointed to another large house… then another.

I stopped completely and pulled the shades right off my face to blink in surprise. The more I looked around, the more I noticed pretty much all of these houses were… quite well off. My heart hit my stomach as I glanced around, then looked back at John who seemed to be thinking the same thing I was.

We were both quick to pick up the pace and start running down the street, looking for 187.

When we found it, my momentary nightmare came true. We stood dead still in front of the iron gate that was 187 Mapleton Avenue, a long cobble stone path just beyond it with two large double doors attached to one of the biggest fucking houses I'd ever seen next to a mansion. It was like looking at Versailles or some shit, only more castle like. I felt what little color I normally had in my face vanish as I gripped the bars with all my might.

Vriska. Was fucking. Loaded.

"About time you got here!" we heard a voice call from an intercom next to us. John jolted a bit and looked at it, I simply peered beyond the gate. This was too ironic. I loved, and yet hated it all at the same time.

"A-ah… Vriska?" John asked to the speaker box.

"No shit, Egbert. You guys are the last to get here."

"It's before 8:00!" he whined.

"Barely. But you'll be spared I suppose."

"Disappointment." I piped up in mock pout. "I was soo hoping to find the 1800's torture chamber underground."

"You Masochist, if you insist, we can take a detour later." She chuckled.

"Oh boy oh boy." I said flatly, hearing the latch come undone on the gate. The doors opened on their own, allowing John and I access beyond. John hesitated for a moment before breaking out into a mild jog towards the doors. I took one long last look at the building in front of me before shoving my shades back on and following him, only at a slower speed. I wasn't in any hurry, after all.

John ran inside immediately, kicking off his shoes and rushing inside. "Wow! This is incredible!" he mused.

I barely got through the door and all of a sudden found myself on the ground. Terezi decided clinging to me was a good idea. Patting her back, I said just as flatly as earlier "Wow. Did you miss me or something?"

"Just a bit!" she cackled.

"You sure you weren't scared at seeing the torture chamber or something?"

Another cackle, but this time from Vriska. I sat up and cast a wary glance at her as she crossed her arms over her chest. She was wearing tattered jeans, an open short sleeved blue jacket and black t shirt underneath. Even with the simple attire, she still looked as threatening as ever. It must have just been her personality. "No. She hasn't seen that part of the building yet."

"And somehow I'm not surprised that you might actually have one. What the actual hell, Vriska? You're loaded?"

She rubbed her fingers together, then inspected her nails as if they were more interesting than us. Smooth. "Something like that."

"Don't hold your breath Dave. She'll bask in this for ages." Terezi grumbled.

"Wow Vriska… I had no idea." John piped up, gawking at her like she was some sort of God.

Wait. That look in his eyes. Aw shit. Did John have the hots for her? Well that made things awkward as fuck, but kind of threw the whole 'he might be gay' scenario out the window. Hum. I wasn't sure which situation I liked more. I pursed my lips as Vriska grinned to John, giving him a playful punch in the shoulder to which he just laughed, rubbing it. It probably hurt him, seeing as how he was scrawny as hell and kind of landed his own ass on the pavement earlier. "Nice shirt, Egbert." She smirked.

"Thanks!" he piped, completely side-tracked by the temptress who brought us all here to our inevitable doom.

Speaking of 'us all'…

"Where is Jade and Karkat?" I asked, looking at Terezi who seemed reluctant to let go of me.

She gave a small shrug and pointed over her shoulder. "Vriska sent them in the room over there and they've been watching Romcom's for the past hour."

"You've been here and hour?"

"I was told specifically to show up earlier. Dunno why she never told you guys to show up until later, but she made the rest of us show up like 6:30…" she frowned. Well, if that didn't make me more suspicious, then I didn't really know what would. I couldn't help but mirror Terezi's frown, but it was what she said next that caught my attention the most. "Sollux is here too. He's with Karkat and Jade."

"Really?" I couldn't hide how surprised I was. None of us even knew Sollux, so why was he here? As my eyes went to Vriska who was humoring John for the moment, I realized doing so was a mistake. Almost as if sensing it, she stopped talking to John completely, looked towards me, and cast a dark grin in my direction.

She waved her hand off after a moment as if brushing off a boring subject, flicking her streaked hair. "Well, now that we're finally all here, get your asses to the living room. I'll get things started shortly." She gave John a playful hip bump on her way by, heading off down the hallway. He watched her a long moment before smiling like he'd just won first place hungry hungry hippos or some shit like that. He looked damn happy with himself to say the least. Well. We'd have to talk about this little change in atmosphere later. For now, there was someone in the other room I was practically dying to annoy.

"Torment KarKitty time?" I smirked down at Tez. She looked up at me through her red tinted shade, then gave the most brilliant grin she could muster. She too seemed to take a thrill in tormenting him. They were friends before coming here after all, so she knew some of the best ways. Still, I seemed to get on his case more than she did. I partly wondered why, but part of me decided he was probably used to Terezi's antics having known her so long, yet I was fresh off the press.

This made it all the more enjoyable.

Terezi scrambled up and pulled me with her towards the living room, where John watched where Vriska went for a long moment before reluctantly sauntering after us. We could hear the romcom playing long before we got there, and upon coming around the corner, we found Karkat sitting in the middle of the floor with a bucket of popcorn, looking at cranky as ever, studying the screen with an intensity that could only mean he was studying it. He was studying hard. Maybe he wanted to be a director? He donned himself in a black t-shirt with a grey and black long sleeved turtleneck underneath. He wore the same flat jeans as earlier today covering his crossed legs that held the bucket of popcorn.

Next to him was Sollux, who wore his bi-colored sunglasses as before… red and blue. I had to admit they were interesting. He had a dark grey t shirt on that had kind of golden yellow sleeves, tan cargo pants and black wrist bands. He didn't seem like that bad of a guy, really. Especially now that there wasn't competition. Then again, I couldn't help but notice Karkat was not upset in the slightest that he was near him. I kind of figured he might have had some sort off friendly rivalry with him… yet they were chilling next to each other as if they were best friends? Something seemed off, and my gut didn't like it for some reason.

Jade sat behind and in between them, wearing a long denim skirt, her usual round glasses and mid sleeved t-shirt with aqua colored sleeves. She only seemed to be half paying attention, and was the first to notice us all come in. "Oh! Hi John! Hi Dave!" she giggled, waving to us. "I'm so glad you could make it!"

The popcorn that was so delicately placed in Karkat's fingers suddenly crushed under the pressure of him clenching his fist suddenly, and going tense. "Fuck." He hissed quietly and looked over, glaring at the two of us. "It's about time you nook-whiff's showed us here. We've been bored fucking stiff waiting for you." He grumbled in his usual tone. What the hell was a 'nook-whiff' anyways? Sollux quickly looked over to us as well, looking relaxed, yet curious. It was hard to tell since he too worse the shades that his expression. I could see from here though that he worse braces, just in the short second he opened his mouth as he looked like he was going to say something, then stopped.

"Apparently we weren't invited for the opening party. Looks like it was pretty stale though." I retorted, looking back at the screen. I visibly cringed at the movie and looked back at Karkat inquisitively. "Really? Titanic? I thought you were watching romcoms…"

"And what the fuck is wrong with a dramatic movie?"

"Dude. It's Titanic." I muttered, furrowing my eyebrows.

He hissed and shoved the popcorn he was eating at Sollux, as if telling him to protect it. He simply grasped the bucket and watched Karkat stand up, stealing a handful for himself. He was watching us instead of the movie. Must have meant we were more entertaining. Of course we were! "Like you can rip on it when the music you listen to is absolute garbage. The movie is based on a real life tragic event with a deep intricate love story that you couldn't possibly wrap your hipster mind around. It was nominated for 14 awards and won 11 of them at the 70th anniversary academy awards alone, not including being a box office number one for how many weeks-"

"I'll never let go, Jack." I said in the squeakiest voice possible, trying to look as frail as possible.

He lost it, and it was beautiful.

The next thing I knew, my back was on the floor and Karkat was sputtering nonsense in my face while trying to pin me down. The redness in his face over the whole thing made this even more incredible. If he wasn't so pissed off right now, this would look kind of suggestive. It was ironic, and somehow I liked it, even though I didn't swing that way. It was far too easy to imagine that same reddened face with the back curled in the opposite direction and screaming a different way. A rider on Strider. Heh.

Had to get my mind off of that. So I just went on like I always did, which was frankly not giving a fuck.

"Are you fucking dense!? It was named one of the most romantic movies of the decade! Starcrossed lvoers and all that bullshit!"

"Like Romeo and Juliet."

"See!? Maybe your think-pan isn't as rusty as I thought. There could be saving you yet."

"Because it's so romantic to watching two people thinking with their organs below their belts and calling it love when it's actually blind impulsive infatuation that ends up getting them killed in the end."

Kartkat's jaw dropped. "Do you realize you're trashing some of the best romantic literature of the 16th century!? Dave I'm fucking shocked that you could want to be an actor when you can't appreciate something as intricate, well-known and famous as fucking SHAKESPERE." He looked like he was either ready to puke as our clear differences in genre taste, or just kill me on the spot. Yes. This was the Karkat I loved to toy with.

"Romeo and Juliet knew each other… what. Three days? Pretty sure Jack and Rose were somewhere along the week line as well and they decided they knew and 'loved' each other so much that they would DIE for each other."

"Jack didn't commit suicide."

"Pretty sure that door was big enough for the both of them, if they just got on it properly."

"You're a fucking prick who can't appreciate a fine romantic drama."

"I'll NEVER let go, Karkat!" I screeched again, only this time slipped my wrists out from under his feeble grasp and wrapped them tightly around his neck, pulling him down tightly to me. He flailed of course, and I knew his face would be fuming right now. Too bad I couldn't see it with his face burried in my neck and all. He struggled to make me let go, but our difference in physical strength was determined long ago. Long ago being like this week. Long enough ago.

"STRIDER. LET ME THE FUCK GO."

"No dude. I just said I'll never let go! This is part of the romantic drama comedy bullshit that you're so into." All I got was a hiss in response. He probably didn't like being a part of the dramas… just watching them with that horrid scowl on his face. This was far more ironic and humorous.

"Wow. And you haven't even had any drinks yet." Came a voice that I didn't recognize. I looked over Karkat's shoulder to see a girl sitting on the couch with a tomboy haircut, staring with something that looked like boredom in her jade-green eyes. She wore a brilliant red dress, much like the red I decided to splay tonight, with a thick black belt around her waist. You could immediately tell she loved fashion, but somehow gave off a similar aura that my sister did. Who the fuck was she and when did she get here?

"This is normal." I shrugged, wrapping my legs around Karkat's frame only to get even more of a pissed off rise out of him. Terezi was in hysterics next to us, pushing Karkat more into me. He was undoubtedly pissed with his current situation.

"Clearly the other party is enjoying himself. Perhaps you should loosen your grip before forgiveness can no longer be achieved."

Huh. This girl had a weird way with words. I couldn't help but twitch an eyebrow at her, before giving a defeated sigh and immediately letting go of Karkat. He flailed so quickly to try and get away from me, he actually fell back down for a second before scrambling back up, immediately backing away and glaring at me. It almost looked at if she was trying his damnedest to make me explode. Adorable. "Fucking asshole." He hissed.

I shrugged, but froze instantly when I saw him squirm back towards Sollux, snatching up his popcorn again. "See the kind if idiocy I have to deal with, Captor?"

"So you've said at least a dozen times today." He lisped while looking in my general direction. He must have just gotten those braces with how uncomfortable he looked trying to talk to them, and the way he struggled to form some words. "You could lay off of him so KK doesn't have to be so uptight, you know." He grumbled, leaning forward to look past Karkat and at me. KK? Now that was a different nickname. I preferred the ones I came up with. KK was too…. Abbreviated.

"He likes the attention." I smirked, sitting up. I felt the girl with the tomboyish cut eying me cautiously, and Sollux seemed to do the same. What the hell was up with these two? Karkat simply glowered towards me, cheeks still crimson red from the interaction. Honestly, if he was that annoyed or hated me that much, he would have made it damn clear long ago. He was the type of person to say what was on his mind. Or at least I thought.

John stifled a giggle and sat down next to his sister behind the two, patting the irritated friend on the back. "You know Dave just does it because you react, right Karkat?"

"Fuck you, Egbert." He hissed, throwing popcorn over his shoulder at him. John simply giggled. Jade rolled her eyes and picked up a few stray kernals, tossing them back into Karkat's hair. They were all so tight knit… oddly it felt like I was… left out? Huh. Strange.

At least that's what I thought until Terezi plunked her softly rounded ass next to me. Terezi would stick with me. I knew that much. I simply grinned at her, giving her a playful shove and she did the same in return. Karkat simply grunted and looked away, shoving a generous amount of butter flavored puffs in his face.

"Glad you made yourselves comfortable." Came Vriska's proud voice. She walked in the room with a stack of glasses, and a generously large bag. She plunked down on the floor, looking up at the girl on the couch with a smirk. "Kanaya, you have to come and join us, you know."

"I don't even know why I was invited. I don't know these people." She grumbled, sounding less than enthused about being here. That was fine by me, I didn't really care for her trying to ruin my fun. She was free to leave whenever she wanted.

"Trust me. You wanna be here tonight." That cocky smirk of hers spread across dark lips, patting the spot next to her. The woman on the couch rolled her eyes with a heavy sigh and slid off, crawling over as we formed a circle on the floor and faced Vriska. She quickly handed out the glasses by passing them down the circle, then the grin continued to spread across her face. She had that dangerous look in her eyes again. I already knew I wasn't going to like whatever she said next.

"So. We all wanted to get to know each other better…" she said, trailing off and watching as several exchanged glances, John even nodded heavily. Of course he wanted to know_ her_ better. "So Why not have a fun little game of 'I have never'?"

Oh fuck no. Really? I have never? For those of you who don't know the game, basically you go around the circle and each person outwardly proclaims things they have never done, usually something vulgar or crazy. Everyone who has done said thing that person one said then has to take a drink… alcoholic drink that is. I grimaced at the thought. Indeed it was a way to get to know each other, but it usually ended with people being a drunken sloppy mess. Augh.

"But that would _be way too boring._ So I figured we should make a kind of twist on the game!" she chuckled, reaching into the bag and tossing out a pair of 6 faced dice. "We'll do a game of 'I have Never: Dare Edition."

"I've never heard of this…" John piped up.

"Of course you haven't. I made it up!" she chuckled with a laugh. She swiped up the dice, tossing them in her hands as her eyes scanned around her, looking quite smug. "I figured we might as well get some awkward shit out of the way too. While some of you have been around each other for several years, the rest of us haven't been around to see such experiences, or have any embarrassing, fond, or otherwise traumatic memories of being around each other."

"Pretty sure most of us want to keep it that way." I muttered, but was immediately shushed by the spider-witch.

"Each time someone proclaims they haven't done something, if someone in the circle wants to, they can roll the dice to get a pair of sixes. You get one shot. If you manage to roll the **_two sixes_**, the person who **hasn't** done the thing they proclaimed to do, must do it here and now!"

Jade's face went red as her back straightened, and I felt similar reactions from almost everyone. However the reaction that caught my eye the most was of course Karkat's. His face went pale, hand dropping the handful of popcorn he'd picked up. He looked like his darkest nightmare had just come true. But his expression dimmed further when Vriska continued. "However, if the roller rolls snake-eyes… that's two one's… then the roller will have to do it instead! How does THAT sound?"

"I-I dunno." John started, putting a hand to his mouth in thought, his face red. "Indeed we'd get to know more about each other this way…"

"And it'll be fun!" Vriska added, punching John in the arm a little.

"I-I guess."

Jade nudged her brother. "But there's a lot of personal stuff that gets brought up, right?"

"Usually." Sollux replied in place of her brother. She swallowed hard and clenched her skirt, her cheeks tinged brightly with the color of my shirt. Karkat looked as if he were about to say something, but stopped suddenly, looking in Vriska's direction. She was waggling her finger at him, and he sat, looking at the floor defeated. Strange.

I was just about to voice my disagreement to this whole thing when Terezi punched the floor and leaned forward, looking damn determined. "You're ON, Serket." She grinned, cackling darkly. "This is going to be DAMN interesting." She chuckled, grinning back at me. I blinked as she pulled the shades from my face, tossing them back on the couch. Thankfully she didn't damage my merchandise. "Come on, Dave. You're not afraid of a little lame drinking game, are you?"

"Of course not." I retorted quickly. There wasn't much about me I cared to hide anyways, but still didn't really want to lay everything out on an open platter. With a sigh and a roll of my shoulders, I grabbed my shot glass and looked to Vriska, giving a nod. "Let's just do this. Chances are we won't remember half of the shit that happens in a bit anyways."

"Exactly." She smirked. "A good, fun, adult way to get to know each other. Also a fuck yeah for our independence!" she chuckled, pulling bottles of vodka out of the bag, popping the top off of each of them and passing them around. There was a lot of alcohol from the looks of things, so chances are we were going to be a sad mess in the morning. Everyone reluctantly agreed. Probably cause of the eye Vriska cast to them, daring them to oppose her decision on such a _fun_ idea of hers. Who knew? It could be interesting…

Vriska grabbed her shot glass first, raising it. "Since I started the whole thing, I guess I'll go first. 'Never have I ever given anyone a foot-job before!'" She grinned.

Terezi puffed up her cheeks at this and swiped her own glass of Vodka, knocking it back. I felt my face tinge slightly, so did several others. Jade looked almost mortified, yet somehow interested. Tez coughed slightly on the drink and grumbled. "Wh-what- you never told me…"

"_Suuuurpise_!" she cackled again, grinning from ear to ear.

"Wh-what possessed you to… uhm." John tugged at the collar of his shirt.

"Eh… it was the team captain of the football team in 11th grade. More or less the kink behind it was the fact that he played football, so feet go on balls and… yeah. Just kinda went from there." She shrugged.

"Uhm… wow." John scratched the back of his neck. "I… didn't really need to paint that picture in my mind."

"Oh, you like it, John! You know you do!" she chuckled again. "You're turn then."

"Uhm… okay." John put a hand to his mouth in thought, raising his glass a bit. "Uhm. Never have I ever-"

"No John!" Vriska yelped, catching his attention as he jolted. "You were going to say something lame. You can't same something lame! You gotta say something that people probably wouldn't expect from you. Something interesting! I don't really wanna know how you've never failed a test or something!"

"I wasn't going to say that!"

"But it was still going to be weak. _Come oooon John_. Say something juicier!"

He stiffened, then looked at the floor a moment, clenching his shot glass tightly in his fingers. This would be interesting. The dark side of John that I never really wanted to know, but at the same time, was very curious about. What hadn't the little bugger done? Everything? "Uhm. 'Never have I ever'… uhm. 'peeked in the girls shower room'"

Nobody drank.

"Laaaaaaame." Terezi grumbled. John sighed. I had a feeling he'd be the most sober by the end of the night.

Jade sat up a bit, holding her glass in the air as if toasting. She looked like she was trying to collect herself and ignore the shyness that had bothered her before. "'Never have I ever watched porn-'"

_"LAME."_ Vriska hissed.

"-with my family still in the house.'" She blinked in surprise however when all of us grabbed our shot glasses and sucked it back- John included. "**_WHAT!?_** JOHN-"

"S-sorry Jade. Honesty, right?"

"I'm surprised he watches porn _at all_." Terezi said flatly, her face dead serious.

"Me too, to be honest. I didn't see any porn collection in his stuff when I helped him unpack." I grumbled.

"It's called the internet." He muttered softly. Everyone burst out in claps and 'ooh!'s. Vriska looked especially pleased with his answer, damn proud of her decision to play this game.

It went on for several rounds. We'd probably been around the circle a dozen times. Things were getting hazy. Things were brought up about people that I probably didn't want to know. Apparently Jade had sex for the first time with a famous musician, John never jerked off in bed before, only his shower. Sollux was bisexual, Vriska was a dominatrix, Terezi had done almost everything in the book and was tipsy beyond imagination. Kanaya was pretty boring sadly, she'd hardly taken a shot all night. Karkat had done a handful of things, but nothing that seemed out of the ordinary. That confused me a little.

Kanaya grabbed her shot glass, raising it up in boredom and closing her eyes. "'Never have I ever masturbated to the thought or image of a boy.'" She said.

Vriska of course took a drink, so did Jade, Terezi and Sollux. John however kept his glass on the floor, finally answering my question about his orientation. Kanaya was a lesbian then. Huh. Not that it really mattered to me, as I didn't know her, nor care for her. But it was the next movement that made my jaw drop so hard and everyone gasp in surprise. Karkat took the shot, shoulders tense and looking incredibly annoyed with the world. Karkat… jerks off to the thought of a guy before? Or… even to the image or sight of one? Sollux leaned forward a bit, looking at him in surprise. "R-really KK?"

"Yeah!? So what!?"

"D-Does that mean you're gay…?" Jade hiccupped slightly, her cheeks tainted for the night due to the alcohol induced heat.

"N-not exactly." He grumbled, looking away.

"You're bisexual." Vriska grinned.

Karkat's shoulders went tense as he glared at the floor. "What's it to you?"

I saw Sollux's cheeks redden a bit and he looked away, scratching the back of his neck. Oh, really now? What was with all off these new discoveries on who liked who tonight? Sollux might have a thing for Karkat? Did they even know each other? I couldn't help but purse my lips as I leaned backwards, watching the event unfold. This was definitely something new. Sollux looked a bit shy now that he knew of Karkat's orientation, and Karkat looked like he just wanted to fade out of existence.

"Haha! _Really_ Karkat!?" Terezi chuckled, crawling across the circle and flopping over his shoulder. "_Reaaaaaaally?_ So dosh dat mean when I started dating Eric in high shkool-"

"Shut up, Terezi." His hissed. It wasn't his normal tone, it sounded legitimately pissed off. Like she'd just hit some sort of nerve.

"And _all dat time_ I thought we wur a ting. You know, we played togezure a loot before Eric came into da pichur."

"I said, **SHUT UP**, **Terezi**." He hissed again, glaring at her. "That's a bullshit topic to bring up." There went the flags. The gut told me once more I had to intervene or shit was going to hit the fan. What the hell could I do? Words probably wouldn't help…

So I guess I had to do what I did best. Take the god damned spotlight.

With a swift motion, I snatched up my shot glass and sucked backed the contents, watching at the circle went dead quiet and stared at me. Of course I was straight as a god damn ruler and never had jerked off to a guy before, but it got them all to shut up. Terezi's jaw popped open, and Karkat stared in confusion at first, then looked as if some sort of crazy realization had come over him.

"Dave? You're **_Gay_**?" Vriska piped up. She looked just as surprised as everyone else.

Now was the time to bullshit my way through this. I was an actor for a reason, after all. "Nah. Not even bisexual." I shrugged.

"_Liar_." Sollux grumbled, glaring across the circle at me. Oh ho. Did he not like the fact that I just stole the stage?

"_Bullshit."_ I grumbled, playing a smirk across my face. "Everyone has at least one homosexual fantasy that they wish to live. You're a God damned liar if you haven't once thought about at least making out with the same gender as yourself." Everyone seemed to go silent, and Karkat relaxed a bit. "So yeah. I can honestly say I've touched myself to the thought of another guy. Can you girls _openly say the same_?"

The silence was beautiful, and I loved that I managed to shut everyone the hell up, even though what I spouted was a complete lie. But again I felt out of place, because judging by everyone's reactions, they'd all fantasized about sex with the same gender. Unless you counted the scuffle between Karkat and myself earlier as a fantasy, never had I ever done the same. Kanaya was the only person who seemed un-phased, rolling her eyes and grabbing her cell phone, playing with it.

"Whatever." Vriska shrugged, looking back to me. "Your turn, Strider. What haven't you done this time, cool-kid?"

Again I shrugged, lifting my shot glass and taking a dramatic pose. "Well, since we're on the topic, I guess I should say 'Never have I ever kissed or made out with a boy'." There. Save Karkat and Terezi from having a huge fight, and also cover my own ass so no one assumed I was actually gay. I watched as again the same crew took drinks. The girls, minus Kanaya and Sollux. Karkat didn't drink though. Hum. Was I right when I said he was Fresh before?

Suddenly a sharp grin plastered Vriska's face and she snatched up the dice. I couldn't help but cock an eyebrow at her. Really, she was going to roll to try and make me make out with a boy? Of course we had to do it immediately, so that meant it would have to be either John, Sollux or Karkat. Normally I would have been really worried, but the chances to roll a pair of sixes was beyond in my favor. "You realize if you fail, that means you have to make out with one of us, here and now, right?" I smirked. John looked mortified by this thought… probably feeling insecure that he wouldn't be the one chosen… or perhaps even more insecure about if we had to make out.

"Well Dave, I hate to boast, but I usually have _all of the luck_. I'm pretty sure I can take your man-kiss virginity away from you."

"You saying _you're_ actually a _man_? Truth of the night!"

"Not funny, ironic boy. Are you ready?"

"Get your lips puckered, Serket." I smirked.

With a dark grin, she tossed the dice between her hands a few times, then whipped them forward into the circle. We all watched in anticipation as the tumbled across the floor. I felt pretty confident… you know. Up until the point that one of them stopped and I saw the six. The other was slowly down and I felt my eyes go wide in surprise. Of course, luck would have it that it landed on a six as well. I blinked at it for a second, grabbing them distastefully. "I bet these are just as loaded as you are." I spat, tossing them to the floor, only to find that they landed on different sides.

Oh shit. They weren't loaded. She really DID have all of the luck.

She leaned back, smirking at me in victory as I slouched my shoulders in defeat. Shit. "Alright. I won't be a sore loser." I grumbled, unzipping my hoodie and rolling it off of my shoulders. As much as I didn't like it, I wouldn't be a pussy and back out. It would be very un-Strider like of me to not follow the rules of this game. God dammit, if I had to make out with a guy, I was going to make it the hottest fucking make-out they'd ever seen. I went all out. That was the Strider way. Put on a damn good show.

With a grin, I stood up and stepped into the middle off the circle, stumbling a little and looking around at the three boys. Sollux looked pissed. I was definitely going to go for him, just to piss him off even more. "So, who's going to be the lucky mister who gets to get a taste of Strider lips?" John looked like he was going to be sick, mouthing at me to please not pick him. Sollux had a glare of death on his face, and Karkat looked bewildered, not really paying attention.

I started pointing at them in Eenie Meanie style, until the spider-witch spoke up. "Wait Dave." I glanced at her, cocking an eyebrow again, but she had that dangerous look on her face once more. Again, I didn't like the feel of this. "You can't just choose whoever you want. That'd take the fun out of it."

"Aww. I don't get to choose my own princess?" I pouted.

"Nope. Normally I would let you choose, but again, we need to keep things interesting here. You probably should kiss a boy that also hasn't experienced it before, so that way it takes someone else off the list. So that cuts Captor out." Sollux looked relieved for a second, but I pouted. That meant John or Karkat. "Also, I think making out with someone who doesn't swing that way and is also your room-mate could potentially ruin a friendship down the road."

I went dead silent and Karkat looked horrified. So. This was planned? Why in the ever living fuck would Vriska want me to make out with Karkat?

"Get to getting." She grinned, folding her fingers together.

"**T-this is** **BULLSHIT**." Karkart hissed, slamming his hands down on the floor and glaring at her. "Complete and utter bullshit! Its harassment and completely against my will and-"

"Karkitten, shush." I said softly, catching his attention completely. His eyes went wide and face red as I knelt down in front of him, giving him the gentlest smile I could muster. "It's the rules. So I guess I'm going to make your wildest dreams come true."

"**_L-like fuck_**!" he spat, leaning back away from me. His eyes darted around looking for an escape route as I crawled towards him, eyes lidded. I was a fucking actor for a reason, and I was going to make sure that Vriska got the damn show she was looking for. I saw John flinch nearby, but didn't pay him any mind. "Like **_hell_** I would want to kiss you. Just cause I'm bi doesn't mean that I'm attracted to _any_ guy!" he spat again, backing up. I stopped him however by grabbing his wrist and half crawling over him. Maybe it was the alcohol talking, but damn he looked adorable when he was defenseless. Did that make me a sadist? Probably not, but still I couldn't help but think that he did look damn adorable.

"Of _course_ not." I purred smoothly, running a hand over his cheek. I could hear Terezi chuckle a bit, and Jade gasp. In fact I even saw her shift closer as if she wanted to see better. Apparently they all wanted a show. Ironic. "But once you get a taste of Strider, you might not be able to get enough of it."


	8. Chapter 8: Let's put on a Show

_Oh my goodness… for starters, I must apologize for the last chapter for several reasons… the first (unfortunately) 100 views from people managed to see that for some reason the chapter was double posted. The only explanation I have for this was while doing my final edits where I was cutting off the chapter, I was hitting ctrl + z to get rid of some edits I made and the whole thing disappeared. Thinking I simply Ctrl z'd too much I simply pasted it again and continued my edits. Turns out this was not the case, but it double pasted and I apologize for that as I passed out shortly after I posted the chapter.:(_

_The second apology is because of WHERE I left the last chapter off at. I'm such a tease. Hoo hoo! I know one reviewer in particular was quite saddened by the cutoff, but I love cliffhangers… what can I say?_

_To make up for it, here's a chapter early! I cut this one off again as I had much more planned for it, but I think I'll make it all a chapter on its own, because there's a lot to cover there. _

_So, without further ado, I'll continue exactly where we left off. We're about to make some magic happen!_

* * *

**Chapter 8: Let's put on a Show.**

* * *

_"But once you get a taste of Strider, you might not be able to get enough of it."_

The look in Karkat's eyes was more than rewarding enough of an experience and I could feel Sollux's eyes on me the whole time. He had no reason to complain… he and Karkat weren't an item… didn't John say he and Feferi were together anyway? I wasn't his boyfriend either, nor did I intend to be, but I did for some reason enjoy this very much. Maybe it was because even though he looked like a frightened kitten beneath me, Karkat was otherwise fairly calm compared to normal. Did he actually want this? Was he not resisting because he actually deep down wanted this? Or was he too feeling the bubbles of the vodka shots snapping around his mind and not only making everything feel very hot, but very hazy as well.

I grinned, leaning down and stopping just before his lips. Being this close to him was warm, inviting, even if it was a guy. It'd been a damn long time since I had kissed anyone. "D-Dave… you're not gunna…?" he stuttered, searching my eyes for an answer. I could feel the pulse of his heart through the blood pumping in his wrist. It was beating wildly, and the red glow in his cheeks was more than inviting enough.

"Yup." Was my simple reply.

My free hand took Karkat's chin and lifted it slightly, then gently pressed my warm lips against his. They were soft, much softer than the stone cold attitude he threw at me. It started out slowly enough, Karkat was stiff, barely holding himself up as my lips gently touched his. However, being mindful of the movements and giggles around me, I remember the whole thing. I had never kissed _OR_ made out with a guy before. This had to get more interesting.

I gently parted my lips, straddling over top of the boy below me and sucked on the bottom portion of the soft flesh gently, licking the smooth line where his lips were pressed together, firm and unmoving. This simply wouldn't do, not if I was going to put on the show of a lifetime. The hand holding his wrist let go, reaching around the back side of him and wrapping my fingers against the mound he sat upon, palm pressing firmly against the cushion. Karkat's eyes shot open and opened the seal I was desperately trying to get at. My tongue darted out, forcing entry into the moist, warm invitation and lips crushing against his again. I felt a rumble in his throat in protest, but the fingers that flew up and clenched the t-shirt I wore told me a completely different story.

I was lost in thought as I explored the heat of Karkat's mouth. It was warm, inviting. It tasted of vodka, and he gave off the scent of some sort of soft musk, a soft cologne of some sort that in a strange way, almost smelled like that of a woman. Was it some sort of spicy vanilla?

Whatever it was, it made me hungry for more.

I pulled back long enough to inhale, before attacking those pink lips again, once more shoving my tongue into the warmness that awaited me, crawling over the smaller frame as fingers clenched through the fabric of my shirt and into my skin. I could hear Terezi scooch across the floor a bit behind me, muttering something to Jade, but I didn't care. Right now I was too far lost in the sound of Karkat's soft moans and gasps as I rocked my leg against his, holding his face in place so my lips could seduce his and relish in each moment I could feel his fingernails tighten ever so slightly on my back. It felt good. I felt wanted.

Just wanted though. That's how it always was.

Upon retreating the sweet comfort of his lips, I gently kissed the side of them and down his jaw, finding the spot just under the ear to lick and suckle at, breathing slowly into his ear. He tensed beneath me, fingers dragging across my back in a way that made me wonder how he wasn't actually clawing through the fabric of my t-shirt. He squirmed lightly, his moans reaching a higher pitch than before. I half wondered if he was getting turned on my all of this. The other half of my brain demanded to not know. I was straight dammit. Dirk was gay. Rose was a lesbian. I was straight.

"_S-Strider-!_" Karkat squeaked under me, sounded desperate as he squirmed even more. But before I could torment the boy even more underneath of me, I heard Vriska clear her throat.

"You seem to be enjoying yourself a little too much there, straight guy." She chuckled.

Without hesitation, I immediately whipped my head back and looked at the spider-witch, giving her a cocky grin. "That's why I'm an actor, Serket. Have I finished my time?" I cooed softly, twirling my index finger in Karkat's hair. I could hear him panting softly underneath of me, suddenly still.

"I think you've more than proven your point." She chuckled. "Pretty sure that brings us to Terezi's turn."

I quickly pulled off of Karkat and crawled back to my spot, smirking at Terezi whose jaw had unlocked during the whole ordeal. She was at a loss for words, not that I could blame her. It wasn't very often someone managed to get a front row seat of just how damn sexy a Strider was. Karkat was still on his back, panting softly and staring up at the ceiling with his reddened face. Sollux edged closer to him and muttered something quietly to him, but Karkat's sour look returned and he lightly batted him away, sitting up with his shoulders slouched, face still crimson. "Fuck off. I'm fine." Was all I heard him mutter in return. Silly kitten.

Terezi raised her glass high and mighty, giving a wide smirk as she practically shouted her next 'I have never'. "'I have never been more turned on by a live porno in my life!'" she cackled. John and Sollux were quick to drink, Jade following suit with her cheeks flushed, averting her gaze. Kanaya gulped it down and grimaced. Men did not turn her on whatsoever it seemed.

Vriska sipped at her shot glass, grinning. "I'm pretty sure you just twisted that around, but sorry honey. I've seen hotter."

I shot back my glass and smirked at Vriska. "I could change that, you know."

"Fuck you." I heard Karkat grumble as he slowly, reluctantly sipped at his shot.

The night continued like this with more dice rolls the more we drank. Anyone else who rolled seemed to fail miserably, but when Vriska had the dice she seemed to dominate. She apparently had all the luck, just like she claimed. All in all we got a front row seat at Terezi and Jade making out in their underwear, at which point Kanaya excused herself and went home. Sollux had the joy of dry humping the back of Terezi's head who just laughed at it as she always did. John ended up streaking down the street, only to come flying back and beg for his dare to be over. He was much more subtle in his 'I have never's' after that.

But the night went on, my head got fuzzy and I started forgetting things. Conversations were blurring together, room was spinning to the point where I barely remember asking everyone to skip me until the world stopped turning, not meaning it like that of course but the spinning. I recalled a few leaving, John passing out on Vriska's floor, and I'm pretty sure I made out with Terezi at some point. It was fucked up the way the lines were blurred and situations merged together.

After some time, I remember wandering home, drunk and disoriented, shuffling to my room and passing out. Everything else was black. I didn't even recall telling anyone I was leaving, or them questioning why I was suddenly up and going. Maybe I did, but I just didn't remember.

And after a grueling 9 hours, the sun came through the window with a vengeance, causing me to wince. My head was pounding, my mind a blur, and my thoughts and feelings scrambled. I felt like roadkill and needed some fucking grease in my system to help the painful hangover. I sat up and reached to my bedside, vision still swimming to look for my shades, but I couldn't find them. I hoped to fuck I never left them at Vriska's… or worse, dropped them on the way home. That would break my heart in more way than you can damn imagine.

Grumbling I started to sit up but felt a weight that wouldn't allow me to move much more than I already had. My head spun faster than it should have, my mind pounding in defiance from the sudden movement. I didn't bring someone home with me, did I? I didn't recall it… I squinted at the mass next to me, trying hard to blink the blurs from my eyes. Dark hair, pale skin- aw fuck.

Somehow, the very person I kissed heatedly last night was in my bed next to me. And to give you **a blatant hint**, it was Karkat Vantas.

He was shirtless.

I was shirtless.

_Fuck._

I snapped the blanket off of me, surprised by the coloration of it by the way, looking down as much as I could lift myself to pray to whatever God was above me that I still had pants on.

I didn't have pants on. _Fuck!_

But my boxers were still on. _Slightly_ better!

Karkat also still had his black and red boxers on, seeming to be dreaming peacefully with his arm slung over me. I couldn't help but notice he was warm. There didn't seem to be a mess anywhere on us or the sheets that I could see, so it looked like we hadn't done the nasty. Thank Gog. I thought I said I didn't swing that way. However, judging by the mess of his hair and the marks on his skin, we had probably been pretty damn touchy feely. I could see nail marks along my arm as well. I was probably covered in them on my back the way it stung.

With a groan, I flopped my head back onto the soft pillow underneath of mean, rubbing the morning moisture from my eyes, then staring up at the ceiling again. I frowned at my surroundings, noting all too well this wasn't exactly what I had expected, and there I was staring at another white ceiling. I hated white ceilings… and here it was staring right back at me. Again. That motherfucker just never seemed to want to go away.

I closed my eyes and counting to a hundred a few times over before giving up, and just deciding to wait. Thankfully it wasn't long after I was out-glared by said ceiling that I felt movement beside me. Time to face the fucking music. It was going to hurt the brain. He stirred for a moment, hand sliding down my chest- _his touch was fucking_ **_hot_**- and balling it into a fist. He grumbled, reaching said hand for his head and muttered profanities escaped his lips and he started to sit up. He was just about as slow as I was when I woke up. Still, I lay there just watching him with my poker-face intact, preparing for the sirens to go a blaring- augh.

He paused suddenly when his hip brushed mine, stiffening and looking down at me from his sitting position, blinking several times over to try and see past his own blurry vision. He finally blinked once, jumping a bit and rubbing his eyes, leaning forward to get a better look at me. Awkward. "Uh. Morning. Like what you see?" Sorry… I couldn't help it. It was too _ironic_.

"DAVE-FUCKING-STRI-OW OW ow ow ow _oooow_." he hissed, grabbing his head and shifting to his side of the bed, pressing against the wall. I could see his hands go down for his crotch as I sat up, seeming to sigh somewhat relief as he realized he still had his boxers on. He sneered, lifting his head and glaring at me with an intensity that must have been further hurting his brain.

"Dude, you might want to tone down the death glares. You're going to pop even more blood vessels if you continue putting so much strain on that mush inside your skull you call a brain."

"Very FUCKING-" he winced. "-funny Strider. A real charmer, such a way with words. In fact, I'm so overly exasperated by the not literal vomit that you spew out of your mouth, I think I'm about to literal vomit out of sheer excitement that such word vomit can exist."

"You just used the word vomit three times in one run on sentence."

"Go fuck yourself on a vertical pitchfork, Strider."

"Nice retort, as always." I mused, propping my elbow on my knee, and my cheek on my fist.

"What…" he started, eying me carefully for a second, then looking down at himself. "What in the ever living **FUCK**-" another wince. "-happened… uhm." He paused, glancing between us. He was lost for words. It was kind of golden, but at the exact same time, I couldn't blame him. I couldn't quite grasp what the actual fuck was going on either, but I had some damn good ideas.

"I think we took our dare from Vriska and brought it home."

He looked like he was about to mouth off at me, but paused and he looked me over. "… You're covered in _scratches_." He said, eying my suspiciously.

"And you have a hickey. _Riiiight_ there." I said, pointing to the crook of his neck. He jolted and lifted his hand, running his softer fingers along it and wincing at the pain he felt from the swell. Yup. Looks like I probably caused that. I didn't recall Karkat having any other make-out sessions last night. "Apparently you're delicious?" I said with a shrug.

The glare returned tenfold as he shoved me aside and jumped off of the bed, grabbing his jeans and striped shirt. He quickly pulled on his jeans and pulled his shirt over his head, snatching his t-shirt just after. "You said you were straight!" he hissed dangerously, hissing at his own self-inflicted pain from the sound irritating his migraine.

I sat up straight and narrowed my eyes at him, bored. This argument again. "Dude, I am. I said it last night, I've pounded it into my brother's head who tried to _set me up_ with guys before, and I'm singing the same tune now."

"These _marks_ don't tell me you're straight." He growled, pointing at his neck.

"And **_we all_** do stupid shit when we're drunk. Honestly, can you imagine **Jade** **making out** with another girl?"

"No!" A pause. "Wait." He said as if remembering. "That happened last night, didn't it?" I nodded. He grumbled, pulling his t-shirt over his head while I sat still on the bed, still in my boxers, but found my shades next to the bedside. I carefully swept them up and over my eyes, feeling happier that I was blocking out the sun. It fucking hurt. "Terezi doesn't surprise me… but Jade…" he shook his head and glared at me hard, pointing as he slipped his sneakers on. "At any rate, stay the fuck away from me Strider. I might be bi, but that doesn't mean you can experiment your _bi-curious fantasies_ on me when you're drunk off of your ass and take advantage of me."

"Aw, cute. You sound so meek and defenseless." I cooed. He simply flipped me off and swung the door open, stepping out and slamming it hard behind him.

I simply grinned, staring at the door and waiting. Waiting for him to realize that this wasn't _my dorm_.

He was back probably 5 seconds after he slammed the door, fuming as he trudged over to me and grabbed my clothes, shoving them into my arms. He far less than gently drug me to my feet with his red as red as my own boxers, shoving me hard towards the open door. "Out out out out get the **FUCK OUT**." He hissed, shoving me into the hallway.

I blinked as I stumbled, turning around as I adjusted my shades. "K. I'm out. So uh. Call me maybe?"

The door slammed in my face so hard, the air blew my hair even more out of place than before. My shoulders sank a bit as I stared at the room number, making note of it in my mind for later. It was only after a second I noticed a few eyes staring at me in the hallway in all of my almost naked glory, looking baffled, some looking surprised, and others like they were about to burst into hysterics. I simply kept my poker face on, cocking an eyebrow at them, watching as one walked by me, eying me from head to toe.

"Hey. What's up?" is all I managed to say before strutting off to find an elevator.


	9. Chapter 9: Never have I Ever Until Now

_So the last update was fairly quick, hopefully this one was also quick enough to satisfy your desires! I've been writing out more storyline and developing it greatly in terms of what I had originally planned, changes along the way, things that I've incorporated but forgotten, and also dropping more hints at some hidden agendas I have in the background. _

_I'm also curious as to your feedback! Have any questions or concerns? Maybe want to ask characters something from the story? I have a tumblr now just for my writing, you can find it at **archanememory .tumblr **__****** .c**om__ (minus the spaces of course) and you can ask __**me **__anything (archane) or __**ask the characters something from the story**__! I might even __**draw**__ replies to them! Go ahead, have some fun! I would honestly love more interaction with you, the readers, and I think this is a great opportunity to do so!_

_So, without further ado, I once more kick off the start to a new chapter! _

**_TRIGGER WARNING:_**_ This chapter is extremely 18+ near the end! Though I'm sure if you've come here already, you already knew what kind of stuff to possibly expect. _

* * *

**Chapter 9: Never have I Ever… Until Now.**

* * *

The walk back to my dorm was interesting to say the least. I managed to slip my pants on in the elevator, only getting an odd look from security on my way out. T-shirt came shortly after, but seeing as how it was two in the afternoon and hot as it can get back in Texas, I opted to just carry my hoodie with me. I continued to get weird looks seeing as how I was covered in small love bites, but it was the scratches. It looked like I got in a bitch fight with a girl, or just had some hardcore rough sex. My body and the cleanliness of the bed told me otherwise, thank Gog.

Upon arriving back at my room, I barely had the key in the door before it flung open, a very frantic looking John on the other side apparently waiting for me. I thought we figured out this guy was straight? Raising my eyebrow I held a single palm facing him, cradling my hoodie in the other arm. "How."

"You were gone all night!"

"So were you… don't worry, mother dear. I didn't sleep at a strangers house. Not exactly anyways."

"Well you said you were heading home last night, and Karkat stumbled after you."

"Ooooh. So that's what happened." I said thoughtfully. Still no idea how I ended up at his place though, being drunk off of my ass as I was. I would have to let that one sink in and maybe it would come back to me.

"Really, you two. Most days you would swear you hate each other… but…" he pauses, eying me with sudden wide eyes. I couldn't help but stare right back at him, waiting for him to spit out what the fuck was his issue. "Dave, what happened to you…?"

"Wha-? Oh. The scratches." I said, looking at my arms. "Still trying to kinda figure that one out too."

"… Get in here." John said quietly, before ushering me inside like he didn't want me seen like that. What the hell, half of the god damn campus has already seen them, so why did it matter that I remain hidden? I stumbled inside and watched as he closed the door, turning the deadbolt quickly. I opened my mouth to ask him what was wrong, but he cut me off first. "Take your shirt off."

"What?" Really, now I was REALLY fucking confused. He said he was straight! I was straight! "Dude-"

"Just let me see, Dave."

What a weird kid. I rolled my shoulders and decided best to just calm John down. He seemed pretty persistent on seeing the claw marks that Karkat probably gave to me. I tossed my hoodie on the back of the kitchen chair and pulled my shirt over my head, tossing it in the same direction. I shifted a bit on the spot, putting the weight from one foot to the other as I watched John scan my chest and start towards me. This was awkward. " Do you want me to pose or something?"

John carefully looked at the scratches on my chest, then circles to my back. It wasn't until her touched one of them that I realized just how fucking much they hurt. Ouch. The guy did a number on me. I winced when he did, then spun around, waggling my finger. "No touchie."

"Did Karkat do that?"

I paused for a moment, glancing nervously away. "Yeah… I think so." John was quiet for a long moment before leaning against the kitchen wall in thought. He seemed to be contemplating saying something, but wasn't sure how to say it. "Out with it man. What are you thinking? You look like if you don't say something you're going to explode."

"Uhm." Is all he said, before finding his gaze at the floor and his hand on the back of his neck, running fingernails down it carefully. I shifted my weight again, crossing my arms over my bare chest, wincing only a little at the burn it left. I waited for a good moment before his overbite showed more from him biting his lip, fidgeting on the spot. "Please uhm… don't get offended?"

"You're talking to me, bro. Have I gotten offended yet? I'm not Karkat who jumps at the slightest thing and makes a huge fucking deal out of it."

John finally looked me in the face again, before glancing away. Come on… he needed to man up. "Uhm. Well last night you drank to Kanaya's-"

"I lied." I said bluntly. John looked at me with surprise, but seeming to relax a little. "Everyone was getting on Karkitten's case so much I decided to steal the attention away and move the fuck on with the game. Like I said, he seems to take things far more to heart than I do, I I decided to pull it away from him before he took everything far too seriously."

"A-ah… I guess that makes sense." John replied, holding his chin in thought. "Karkat has always been the one to take things on a more personal level, so it's hard to say how he might have reacted if things kept going the way it did… he might have just up and left, but it's always impossible to talk him out of his moods… you just kind of have to wait until he lets it go." He nodded, fine with my answer, before looking at me again. "Well… what about last night? You said you're pretty sure… _Karkat_… did that to you. You didn't-"

"Nope." I cut him off again, looking at my arms. "I'm not really sure what the fuck happened between us. I didn't even know I ended up at his dorm until I woke up. Drunken stupidity is all I can summarize that up as."

"And Karkat…? How's he?"

"Guess."

"Right." John grimaced at the thought. "So… You're _not_ gay then…?"

"Nope." I said bluntly again. I wasn't really surprised that he was asking. After what happened last night… at the party and after from the look of things, of course he would think I was a closet bisexual or something. So of course I wasn't offended. Silly John. He was the jokester for crying out loud. It seemed though even though he loved a good laugh, he didn't want to hurt others in the process.

"Then… the conditioner…?"

"What?" I uttered, giving him a dumbfounded look.

"Uhm. In the shower."

"Oh for fuck sake, really John?" I grumbled, grabbing his arm and dragging him to the bathroom. He struggled a bit at first, demanding to know what I was doing. Well, I was proving a point. "Get a shower."

"What!?" he yelped, staring at me.

"Fiurst of all, you smell like stale alcohol and it stinks."

"You're not any better."

"You think I'm not going to? Get in there." I grumbled. "And when you're in there, use some of my conditioner." John's face went blank as he stared at me. I grinned and shoved him in the bathroom, shutting the door and grabbing the kitchen chair, bracing it against the door knob. I felt John try and open it, but he was now locked in.

"What is with you, Dave?"

"Proving a point bro. Don't smack it until you've tried it. You can come out one you've made sure to use it."

"That's kind of… weird."

"Did you get any action with Vriska last night?" I called through the door.

"Fuck you, Strider." He grumbled, but I could hear a grin in his voice.

"Well?"

"No." He sighed.

"Get scrubbing then. We'll talk once you're done." I shrugged and rummaged through the fridge, grabbing a bottle of apple juice and sitting at the table. I'd make him see things from my perspective. I wasn't going to have my room-mate wigging out on me for something as petty as rumors. I patiently waited as I heard the water running, etching his future responses in my mind to prepare for any come back that I might need to whip out in second flat. John definitely would listen to me, but I needed him to understand that he was misunderstanding, and that everyone else probably was as well.

The scratches still ached a bit. I wondered when they would fade? I absently rubbed one on my arm as the thought ran through my head. They burned, but it didn't feel unwelcome. Maybe because it reminded me of the afternoon strife's with my bro.

After a good 20 minutes, I finally heard the water shut off in the shower. With a grin, I stalked over to the door and waited for him to tap, asking permission to step out. "Did you use it?"

"Y-yeah." He muttered.

Satisfied, I pulled the chair away from the door and waited for John to come out, but he didn't. "Dude. Are you just going to stay in the steamy bathroom all day? I might start assuming things."

"Can you… get the clothes from my bed? You didn't let me grab a change when you shoved me in here."

… Right.

Shaking my head, I stalked into John's room and found a pile of clothes neatly folded on his bed, his royal blue boxers right on top. I couldn't help but chuckle. It was surprisingly simple for John. I'd have guessed he would have been wearing some cartoon or movie printed boxers, like the motherfucking batman or something. But no. Here I was staring at the simplicity of John's undergarments in all it's plain glory.

I scooped up his clothes and tapped on the bathroom door again. It opened a crack and he snatched them from my grasp, closing the door again. It wasn't like I hadn't seen a guy's penis before. Fuck, I had one, my bro had one, there was public showers at the school for fuck sake. John was probably just shy cause for some reason he still thought I was pitching for the other team or something. Good Gog. He finally poked his head out, pouting at the floor. I could see the difference in the lightness of his hair that he actually used the product like I told him to. I simply grinned from ear to ear. "So you used it?"

"Yeah."

"Are you gay yet?"

He offered a pout to me, knowing damn well he was wrong and my Strider senses came first place once more. "No."

"Then I think it's safe to say case closed, detective." I grinned while offering my room-mate a light punch on the arm. John was alright, I decided. I could definitely be a bro with him, but I had much to teach him.

* * *

Saturday sadly passed by in what seemed to be a wink of the eye, and Sunday I felt like clawing onto the calendar page and declare it be Sunday forever. Sadly, I am only the younger brother of the king of Irony, and we have no such control over how the earth moves and the days that get ticked off said calendar, so Monday came with a quick vengeance. I found myself struggling last minute to finish up my assignments, but played it as cool as ever as I headed back to classes that morning. So what if I was down a few hours' sleep? It wasn't like I wouldn't catch up again by the time the weekend rolled around again.

5 more days. 5 more blessed days. Weekend would come around again and in these next few days I had all of the time in the world to bug the living shit out of my favorite bugging buddy bro.

Stop grinning like that. You're not thinking like they are too, are you? No. Stop. He's just fun to bug and that night was just drunken stupidity. Shush you.

However, I guess drunken stupidity is still stupidity. Do you know how my day started? Well? No. No you don't. It started just as ironic as it could for a Monday morning, and when I approached the lockers to put some of my books in, I saw Vantas just a few lockers down grabbing some of his books. Ironically, he was wearing a turtleneck to hide the swell that I had apparently made on his neck and would take some time to fade.

I called out to him and he was quick to turn to me, but even quicker to slam his locker hard enough that it caught pretty much _everyone's fucking attention_ within the near vicinity. The glare he gave was more than enough to let me know he was legitimately pissed off. I stopped mid wave and curled my fingers downwards slightly. What in the living fuck crawled up his ass and died this time? You know, aside from the fact that apparently we had hot make outs and neither of us remembered it.

He gave something of a snort and scooped up his bag, stalking down the hall with an aura that meant he was about to slam the nearest person into the wall that spoke to him. I felt my shoulders sag a little as I watched him walk away. He really needed to chill. I was the one who was straight as a ruler and I wasn't letting it bother me. He needed to unwind and get the pitchfork out of his ass and learn to take things with a grain of salt. He'd have hair whiter than mine by the time he reached thirty if he kept stressing about bullshit like this. We'd been drunk, apparently we did shit, but we didn't do other shit so all should be okay.

Then again, that was my morals talking… the ones that were saying 'it was an accident neither of you could control and to just forget it happened'. If I had been in my right mind during the escapade, maybe I would be bothered, because of the whole 'If I'm with you, I want all of you' thing, and you know, that part I've been screaming this entire chapter. Not gay.

Fuck this. I learned already that getting in this kid's face until he though fighting with you was pointless was the best way to go, so this is what I was going to do. This is kind of how we became friends in the first place. I let him see there was more to be than just an ironic asshole and to stop taking everything for face value. He was still a stuck up twit around me, but not nearly as much as he was at first. Until now that is. Now he looked like he wanted to kill me.

Would that stop me?

Nah. I'm a persistent fucking ironic asshole.

First class I sat my arse right behind him and muttered to him half of the class, things that he couldn't possibly ignore. Things that wouldn't get me in shit in class. I would ask him what the fuck the professor meant about whatever subject she was talking about. He would ignore me for a bit until he hissed quietly for me to just '_pay attention to what she was fucking saying and I wouldn't have to ask him._' I got words out of him. Still the glare, but words.

Second class was the same. I would pick a new topic of conversation to bug him about, something class related and all I would get was '_Fuck off, Strider._' Still something.

The whole day went like this. But at the end of the day when I approached him at the lockers, I wanted to ask him if he had found a partner for his improve studies. Before I could let a word slide out of my mouth, he once more slammed his locker door and glared at me, it was worse than this morning actually. Huh. Maybe I wasn't getting so far as I thought. It seemed like I was just making it worse.

_Impossible. _

"Fuck _off_ Strider. Go bother the shit out of _someone else_ for a change." He hissed, flipping me off before storming down the hall.

I just watched him as he left, but this time my shoulders didn't sag. Instead, I grinned and looked over the top of the rims of my shades as he turned the hallway. He was trying to deter me from being near him, but it just sparked a brand new fire of determination. I was going to get him to talk to me dammit, and he was going to get over this.

I spent the next two days trying to get any kind of a reaction out of him. Poking him with a pencil in class, just whispering _'Hey… hey listen'_ over and over until he'd finally look at me and I'd simply grin and say hi, to which he'd return another really vivid death glare that if he wouldn't disrupt the entire class, he probably would strangle me. I'd bump into him in the hallways, occasionally ask if I was annoying him yet, and continuously tell him he needed to dislodge the broomstick up his ass. He was getting infuriated, but I was at least getting a reaction. It was better than the cold shoulder he was trying to give me.

And then there was phys-ed. Yes. We have Phys-ed in College. We're future actors and performers, and need to keep our physical fitness up to par. This also included stunt co-ordination, but on this particular Wednesday, we were playing basketball, and Karkat and I ended up being on opposite teams.

Of course I made sure I was opposite to Karkat the entire time, and anytime he got the ball I was right behind him trying to block him. If looks could kill, I would be dead on the court.

"Nope! Can't pass to Parker~" I cooed as I stood in his way. He shifted right, turning a bit, but I got in his way again, grinning at him. "Taylor? Don't even think about it."

"Ffff. Strider fuck off." He hissed as he attempted to pivot around me and shot, but hey, I was the taller guy, so it was nothing for me to reach up and catch the bell, tossing it over to my nearest team mate before Karkat could make a basket. He hissed and glared up at me. "What the fuck is your problem!?" he grumbled as the game continued.

"Dude." I said simply, that grin still on my face. "I'm just playing the game. You know_. The one you're __**losing**__._"

"You gotta be _fucking kidding me_." He glowered, moving around me quickly but made sure to stomp on my foot as hard as he fucking could on his way past. I winced, but grinned after him. He was just making me want to try harder, no fucking way was I letting him slip through my fingers.

I shook the throbbing pain away from my foot and spun around. It was time to put my game face on. Once again I partnered Karkat, but I kept some distance from him, shadowing him carefully. I watched as Parker got the ball and tossed it to Taylor and we raced down the court. I stayed in his blind spot the entire time, but I knew that he knew I was there. He knew I was relentless, that I wouldn't give up so easily.

As Parker hissed towards Karkat and bounce passed him the ball. However, forever a master of the signature Strider Flash Step, before Karkat could get his hands on the precious ball, I was in front of him and catching it delicately in his stead. Parker's face looked pissed at my interference, so I could only imagine Karkat's face behind me.

With another spin on my heel, I bolted down to the other side of the court again, passing to a team-mate and watching as we made another two points with the satisfying swoosh of the net.

"You only _think_ you're good." I heard Vantas hiss next to me as he shoved past me.

I smirked and pointed at him with both hands. "Nope. We **both** **_know_** I'm good." I cooed again. He cast me another look of disgust before having his mind pulled back into the game. Taylor passed the ball to Eric to start the next game, who unfortunately for them had the fumbliest fingers on their team and ended up dribbling the ball _on his own foot_, so it rolled away from him ungracefully. I don't think I had seen anyone do that since_kindergarten_.

Mia, who had ended up on my team snatched the ball up quickly and tossed it in my direction. Karkat tried to intervene, but I wrapped my arms around his frame and caught it in his stead, lifting it over his head. He glared up at me, but I simply stuck out my tongue. His cheeks went red in fury. It was wonderful.

"_Give me that_." He hissed, reaching up as I held it just out of his reach.

"Dude, no. That's not how this game works. You gotta be on my team to do that."

"Strider, you fucking asshole, give me that or get the fuck away from me!" he hissed as he jumped up with a little too much force, trying to reach the ball. I carefully tossed it to a team mate not far from me, but realized all too soon it was too late to save either of us. Karkat jumped forward when he reached for the ball, and was coming down, _right on top of me_.

Instincts kicked in and I leaned back just a bit to make sure he fell on me properly, but I lost my footing and down I went as well. I landed hard on my back on the court, hissing slightly at the friction that burned my back, but instinctively wrapped my arms around the frame of Karkat to make sure he didn't get hurt.

I blinked and loosened my grip, looking up at him with genuine concern in my eyes, as he stared at me in the most dumbfounded and surprised way. Almost the same shock that was on his face that morning we woke up together. "You alright, Karkat?" I asked, sitting up a bit.

He flinched and pulled off of me right away, furrowing his eyebrows as he struggled to his feet, making sure to kick me lightly in the side. I laughed, but ow, that still fucking hurt. "**Fine.** Don't ever do that again, you asshole."

"Come again?" I asked sitting up fully and frowning at him. "Pretty sure **you** were the one who **jumped me**."

He went dead silent. I couldn't really read his face. He looked shocked, confused, something like he couldn't quite comprehend what I just said…? What? He was the one who jumped on me after all. I just made sure the asshole didn't get hurt. I'd live, only a bruise or two… but he always looked much more fragile than me. She snorted again and spun on his heel, looking to Parker as he scurried to the other side of the court. "I'm too short to shadow Strider. Could you please take over?"

Clever little fuck. Ah well. I think I had made my point today.

The game ended with a 45-58 score for Karkat's team. While we dominated at first, by switching up who they shadowed we ended up falling behind. That and I stopped playing for the most part and didn't bother trying after the second half. How many passes I missed and shots I didn't take really didn't help. I probably pissed off my team, but I could always use the excuse that my back was sore due to Vantas. While it was, it definitely was not enough to actually slow me down. I hardly noticed it. Many thanks for the years of Strife, bro. Many thanks.

"Alright. Hit the showers before you go to the next class. You all smell like road kill." Coach Tavers commanded. I heard someone holler back some sort of sharp comment to him, but I didn't pay much attention. Karkat was sitting on the bench, taking a hefty drink of water. Tavers noticed him and approached him. "You okay, Vantas?" Indeed. Karkat looked… flustered in a way?

"Fine." I heard him say. "Just want to relax a bit before I hit the showers." He grumbled, glaring at the floor.

Okay. That wasn't weird or anything. I took a step forward, but Tavers saw me, pointing. "Ah-ah. Hit the showers Strider."

He must have noticed me bugging the shit out of Karkat, and probably didn't want me to stir anything else up. Dear Jegus, our last interaction wasn't exactly a bad one. I was actually being nice to Karkat. I slowly shrugged my shoulders, temporarily letting it go and proceeded to the showers.

And public showers sucked ass. I felt my eye twitch while I stood under the hot water and everyone was either comparing sizes or bitching about one thing or another. Showers were meant to be enjoyed alone and in peace. While I was definitely used to public showers, right now it felt awkward. Maybe because I was… dare I say… _paranoid_. Paranoid about why Karkat had to stay behind. Paranoid that everything actually **did** think I pitched for the other team.

Argh. So getting through to Karkat this way might not work after all. I had to switch up my game plan. But what the actual fuck could I do? I dried myself off and carefully got dressed, drowning out the annoying chatter around me from the other guys in class. Perhaps I could talk to Terezi, or John. They'd been friends with Karkat for years, right? Maybe they would know what to do to make peace with him. My normal methods, as much as I hated to admit it, were just not going to work from the looks of things. Did he think we actually did more than I figured we did? I'm pretty sure the cleanliness of everything was a dead giveaway that we did not do the nasty.

I slung my bag over my shoulder and headed down the hallway, pondering what the fuck to do. It would probably be best if I asked John about it. John at least knew about the situation, where I hadn't told anyone else about what happened, and I somehow doubted Karkat would tell anyone either. He was definitely not the type to talk so openly about these things.

My train of thought was interrupted when I bumped into someone. I stopped abruptly and looked down to find the brunette girl who sat beside me in the auditorium, her brown locks curling delicately around to frame her face perfectly. Did she seriously take the time to curl her hair after gym? Girls were confusing. Then again, I was all about looking goo too. "Mia." Was all I said to her as I cast a bored look.

"Oh, hi Strider." He said with a bit of a sneer. "Thanks for letting us down today."

"Anytime, sweetheart. I'll be glad to let you down any time you step within my bubble. Which, by the way, you're in my bubble." I said, taking a healthy step back from her.

"You let Vantas in your bubble." She said, cocking an eyebrow and waiting for my reaction.

I simply shrugged. "Vantas doesn't care about getting in my pants. In fact, pretty sure he wants way out of them. I'd like to keep it that way."

She snickered a bit, shaking her head as if confirming something, but gave me an odd look. "You're way off your game today, Strider. I figured someone as cool headed as you would make better decisions."

"Better decisions? You mean like following you on your every whim and desire like some love sick puppy looking for an easy lay? Sorry, sweetheart. I'm above that. I've already had this discussion with you. I don't like my pets second hand."

"No, of course not. You like them _fresh._" I froze completely at her words, especially since she stressed that one word. She left the room during that conversation, didn't she? I had said to Karkat that he was- oh no. Was she too implying that- augh. This was getting out of hand. I was just opening my mouth to respond to her like I had been to John earlier this week when she cut me off completely.

"Is it looking a bit brighter than normal?"

Was it- _oh shit_. I pulled my hand up to my face to realize that yes, I left my shades behind in the change room. "Fancy that." Is all I said as I blinked; only now realizing that yes, things were much brighter than I was used to. Argh. Not like people didn't know about my freaky ass eyes now, but still not something I wanted to show to anyone on a regular basis. "Welp. That was a dumbass move."

"On top of plenty of other dumbass moves I can no longer count on my two hands."

"Aw. You can do math." I said, reaching out and patting the top of her head. I could feel the glare long before I saw it. "Cute. Can you count high enough to reach the number of dumbass moves you've made?"

"There's nothing to count." She shrugged.

"Keep telling yourself that." _I_ shrugged. And with those final words I shifted and hurried back to the locker room, praying to Gog that no one stole my fucking shades. FUCK I would be pissed if someone stole my shades.

The doors were still unlocked and I hurried in, heading over to the locker I had stored my regular clothes in. I opened it quickly and with a sigh of relief, found my shades sitting carefully inside. I snatched those fuckers up quickly and set them gently on the bridge of my nose, making sure they set right. Mission accomplished. Everything should be this easy.

Just as I shut the locker door, I heard something like a yelp, echoing off of the ceramic tiles from the shower area. I could hear the water running still inside, but had assumed that someone had just left the water running, cause that tended to be the cool thing to do. Wasting the resources we had and all that shit. Normally I wouldn't be too eager to run back into the shower room, but the yelp had me concerned. The floors were fucking slippery when wet, so the straggler might have fallen.

And normally I wouldn't care except the only person I knew of that was straggling was Karkat Vantas. He drove me nuts, but I didn't want him to split his head open.

I was quick to jump over the bench and head towards the shower room. I opened the door a crack and peeked inside, narrowing my eyes to look through the puff of steam that came through, fogging up my glasses instantly. I muttered profanity under my breath and pulled my shades up, resting them on the top of my head. Just as I was about to yell and see if Vantas was okay, I completely stopped.

The scene that was playing before me boggled the fuck out of my mind to the point where it completely seemed to shut the fuck off for a minute. My eyes scanned through the steam, tracing each curve carefully as if imprinting in my head to save for later, and Karkat leaning with one arm against the wall to support his shaking frame, toes curled on the ceramic tile, and his free hand at his waist, feverishly tugging at his manhood with hitched breaths.

My jaw was ajar. I knew that much, but somehow I couldn't stop gaping in the direction of the pale dark haired boy, way too focused on his arousal under the hot water and surrounded by steam, making his skin glisten softly with a mix of sweat and water. His face was flushed. He looked desperate, nervous, but his mind was obviously set on taking care of his hardened member to have noticed me poking my head in.

And after watching for- fuck. How long was it? A minute? Two minutes? An Hour? Fuck if I knew! I lost all sense of time… but anyways. I realized this was wrong. I was standing here, watching my friend and classmate jerk off in the shower, and felt myself twitch each time he hissed, and felt my own toes curl each time his did. Even with the humid environment, my lips and throat felt dry. I cast my eyes to the side, feeling ashamed of myself. It was creepy… really fucking creepy. I should back out and forget what I saw here and avoid Vantas for a while. That seemed like the best bet.

But a long moan came from his lips, my eyes darting back. He rolled his head back and his hand moved faster, pumping himself vigorously. He was whispering something, whimpering. But with the sound of the shower, the echoes drowned it out. A bead of sweat ran down the back of my neck and I felt lightheaded. It took me a moment, but after leaning against the door frame and keeping the door open only a crack, I understood what it meant.

Unfortunately, it took a moment after that to realize I had at some point slid my own hand down my pants and was trying to also find some relief to the strain I was feeling inside. I didn't really know when I started, or if I initiated the change in my own blood flow in my body, but there wasn't enough blood in my brain at that particular moment to think clearly, I just needed to find some relief.

Karkat suddenly tensed and braced himself on the wall, and I watched with hooded eyes as his seed washed down him, and ran down the drain. He muttered something again, relaxing his shoulders and catching his breath, but again, the words were too soft and lost in the echoes of the water. He took a deep breath and stood up straight, washing himself down quickly before shutting off the shower.

It was then I realized I was going to be caught. Dave Strider, the Shower Creeping Peeping fucking Tom. I cringed at this realization and backed away from the door, watching it close gently. I pulled my hand out of my pants and spun on my heel, running into a changing stall and shutting it behind me, latching the lock. I held my breath a moment as I heard the change room door open from the shower room, sitting up on the bench and pulling up my feet. I watched under the door for any sign of him approaching, but much to my relief, it seemed he didn't care as he was alone. He took his fucking time though drying and getting ready. Or maybe he didn't. Maybe he only took a moment. Like I said, my perception of time at that particular moment was fucked up far beyond anything I could imagine. I just wanted him to hurry up and leave so I could take care of my own, unfortunately growing problem south of the belt.

Later rather than sooner, I finally heard him gather up all of his stuff and walk out the change room door to the hallway shutting gently behind him. I breathed out a heavy sigh of relief, relaxing a bit against the stall as my shades fell back over my eyes.

Still, this wasn't the time for relaxing. I had to take care of myself. Fuck.

I was quick to grab up my towel again and throw my clothes into said change stall. I rushed to the shower and was about to turn on the hot setting, when I thought better of it now that I had been on the other side of the situation. I hissed and bit my lip as I turned on the cold water and it attacked the heat of my erection, sending the blood back to the places it was supposed to be. It took a moment, but I finally managed to un-excite myself (is that even a word?) and shivered under the cold shower.

Blood back in my brain cells, things were hitting me all too well as I looked down the drain where Karkat's seed spilled earlier. Not only was what I did creepy and wrong, but it completely wrecked everything I had been saying half of the week with a giant wrecking ball in my tower of what the fuck I knew.

At that particular moment, my name was Dave Strider. _Never_ had I **_ever _**touched myself to the thought of a _guy_… at least not before _then_.

And it wasn't even a _fucking dare_.


	10. Chapter 10: Obsessions and Distractions

_Hey Guys, you're all still with me? Whoa, yes. Most of you are and more jumped on the bandwagon. Whew. I guess the last chapter really piqued interests, huh? Hee hee. Anyways, sorry this took a bit longer than the last one. Been getting some roommate bonding down and pretty much just had the time to write the last five half of this chapter today before work. I won't distract you with lots of dribble drabble this time though, and just let you get to reading. I hope you enjoy!_

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**Chapter 10: Obsessions and Distractions**

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A week passed since that incident… was it an incident? _No__**. It wasn't**_! Fuck! _Fuck fuck __**fuck fuck**__**fuck.**_ Hi! Welcome to what happened to my brain since then.

My mind was tossed into a fucking frying pan with the intent to be fried, but decided to scramble me like an egg instead. And part way through scrambling, throwing a bunch of nonsense shit into it and mixing it together to make one mess of a rotten omelet. Yes. Welcome to the brain of Dave-fucking-Strider after watching my friend jerk off in the shower and be so utterly turned on by it, I've woken up in the middle of the night on more than one occasion in the past 8 days pitching a tent in my boxers.

Just… _fuck._

I've been way off my game. I've been distracted during classes, hurrying out so I didn't have to be anywhere near Vantas. Anytime I saw him I would duck away, hide anywhere I could, or move in the opposite direction. I refused any sort of communication with him, and any time I was invited to hang out after classes, I came up with any sort of shitty excuse as I figured everyone would be there.

John knew something was up. Everyone probably knew something was up. But how the actual FUCK do you tell your friends 'hey guys, sorry for avoiding you all lately. I just discovered that apparently I like spying on men in the shower and get a raging fucking hard on at the thought of it to the point where I have to jerk off with a vengeance or find a bucket of ice to stop the blood flowing from the wrong kind of head. What's up?' Yeah. Not something I could talk to them about.

And here I was, in the bathroom, at school in the middle of class where I had to excuse myself because said fucking hard-on wouldn't go away. And of course like the idiot I was, I made most of my seats near Karkat, save for in the auditorium. Before I excused myself from class, I could see Vantas looking at me oddly from the corner of his eye, but I kept averting eye contact however possible. How could you blame him? I went from obsessively trying to get a reaction out of him, to obsessively trying to avoid the fuck out of him. It must have confused him. Hell, if it were me, I'd damn well know something was up.

He actually nudged me after a bit and decided to find his voice for the first time with me since that day. "Hey asshole. You alright? You look like you're going to pass out." He whispered as he leaned closer to me.

But of course he was only making it worse. The closeness, I could smell him. I could hear the hushed tone of his voice and imagine it just as I heard it that day over a week ago. I gnawed the inside of my lip slightly, giving the faintest of nods. I saw his shoulder sag ever so slightly as he shifted back to his normal sitting position, propping his chin up with his palm, and giving a deep sigh. Also didn't help. I could hear it backwards as he gasped and hitched his breaths.

_I wasn't gay. I wasn't gay. I wasn't- fuck I was __**hard**__._

I shot my hand up in the air, eyebrow furrowing in aggravation as I saw him look towards me again. _Stop looking at me. Stop looking at me, Vantas. __**Gog dammit**_! "May I be excused to go to the bathroom?" I grumbled, catching the professor's attention. She cast a wry look over her shoulder at me, unimpressed with how often I had asked in the past week. The class all seemed to be looking at me now too. Not good, but I couldn't restrain it much longer if this kept up.

The proff sighed and jerked her thumb over her shoulder to the door. "Make it quick Mr. Strider. I'm going to start taking attendance marks from you if this keeps up."

"Noted." I grumbled as I shot to my feet and hurried to the door. I didn't dare look behind me to see who was watching, or if anyone noticed the front of my jeans were a bit tighter than usual. I hurried down the empty hallways and now here I was, in a bathroom stall, biting my lip as I rubbed my erection with a vengeance. I hated this. I hated being so damn unsure of myself, I hated feeling like a god damn creeper, I hated the fact that when I closed my eyes, the scene would replay over again, and I hated the fact that I was barely in control of myself.

This was definitely not a Strider thing.

"_A-ah…"_ I grunted as the tension finally built, heat pooling in my stomach and finally came, collapsing against the wall to support myself a moment before I slid helplessly to the floor, panting and catching my breath.

I hated this.

I really fucking hated feeling this God Damned helpless!

I rolled my head back against the side of the stall, closing my eyes and sighing in frustration. What the hell had come over me? I completely lost my cool since last week when all of this conspired. I had no way to concentrate, no way to regain my cool and couldn't get my mind off of what happened. Had I become obsessed with Karkat Vantas? I'd never thought of a guy like this before to the point where I'd actually _touch myself_ to the thought of them. Maybe I was in denial… maybe I was actually…

No no. We're not going to think of that right now. It wasn't like I was ogling every guy with a tight ass or anything. Though now I did feel awkward in the public shower at school with all the guys, because of this damn un-sureness in myself. I rubbed the bridge of my nose as yet another headache crept up. This seemed to be the cycle. Playing it cool, images pop into head either my letting my thoughts wander, or meeting Karkat myself, the me getting flustered and looking for either the nearest bathroom to shamelessly jerk off or ice machine to painfully cool down. When all was said an down I'd feel this overcoming wave of guilt and embarrassment wash over me and continuously fuck my mind more than I did my hand.

I was a mess. I had no sweet clue what the hell was wrong with me. With a groan, I laid my head against the stall and shut my eyes, counting first forwards, then backwards, trying my damnedest to get this off of my mind. Normally I'd just come up with some rhymes to get it out, but I noticed I just seemed to rap about the prodding in my brain which just kind of made it worse, and verbal. Can't let this shit get out. Nope.

When I heard the bathroom door open, I forced my eyes open and watched as a set of sneakers first walked past my stall, then stepped back towards it, pausing. _Fuuuuck._ I recognized those grey sneakers anywhere. Not that I took the time to study every fucking threat I those shoes that belongs to such a classmate, but why the fuck did Karkat follow me, why now?

"You okay? Your ass is on the floor." He grumbled. I could see the way he shifted on his feet, he was probably standing impatiently with his arms crossed. Thank fuck I just got it 'out of my system', so it would be a while before little Dave decided he wanted some fucking attention again. I'd be safe to step out.

With a grunt, I reached up and flushed the toilet, seeing him shift oddly again. Was he trying to look through the crack in the door? Pervert. I somehow found some strength in my legs and pulled myself up, unlatching the door and opening it, costing my classmate a pathetic look. He looked a bit surprised at my state. If he had of paid attention, he would have known damn well why I left, but naturally most guys don't just ogle other guys crotches. He just stared as if he was waiting for me to say something. "What?" was all I said.

"Were you sick, Strider?"

Well, that was a better alternative than jacking off at the thought of you. "Something like that." I grumbled.

His eyebrows furrowed as if he was thinking long and hard on something, then he glared at the bathroom floor, shoving his hands in his pockets. He looked about as uncomfortable as I felt. "You should probably go home and rest."

"I'm fine, dude." I grumbled, running a hand through my hair, now tainted with sweat. Augh, I needed a shower. The hot kind. Not the cold ones I'd been subjecting myself to more and more lately.

He got that stubborn look on his face, closing his eyes tight in an 'I'm right and you're wrong' sort of way. "If it's food poisoning, you need some fucking rest, else you're going to puke on my back next class and sorry, I'm not **that** fond of your insides that I want I smeared all over the back of my head." I simply blinked at him. "If you've got the flu, why the fuck aren't you home anyways? Don't be here spreading a fucking virus around in class… we all need to be in our top performances as performance artists, and you're failing in that department by being sick and spreading it the fuck here."

I found it kind of strange that he was even conversing with me like he had before our little late night make-out incident… he'd been avoiding me hardcore, and now I was avoiding him. Here he was… talking to me. Was he actually… _concerned_? I couldn't help but offer a half smirk and as I wiped my brown, looking away from him. "Maybe I'm pregnant."

"And this is where I tell you to shut the fuck up, it doesn't work that way and go home, Strider." He glowered at me, tapping his foot a bit. I offered half of a shrug. Going home didn't sound like a bad idea. Of course now I felt exhausted, on top of not having to be near him to affect me again, another close call. I get try and get my thoughts sorted out before John got back from his afternoon classes.

"Yeah, okay. I was bullshitting you."

"No shit. Even your ironic slander is failing you today. You obviously need to get some rest." He grunted, his amber flecked eyes darting away and looking at the opposite wall as if it were more interesting than me. I knew no wall was anywhere near as interesting as I was, but somehow I was still having a hard time believing it.

I finally released a breath I wasn't even aware I was holding and slumped against the stall, my eyes looking in the opposite direction past my shades. Did I really have much choice than to listen to him? If not, this would just continue through the day and I'd either be caught, or people would think I was sick. I gave a hesitant nod in response, my legs still feeling a little weak from my previous escapade.

I started to move forward, but Karkat stood still, not moving out of the way. I couldn't help but, dare I say, fidget a bit on the spot. He should really move. You know. Since I'd creeped him the fuck out and was unfortunately constantly being turned on at the memory of his own self indulgence. "Uh… mother may I?" I said sarcastically, but he just grunted.

"I'll walk you back."

"What?" Was I hearing things? I looked over the top of my shades as if they were somehow playing with my brain.

"I said I'll walk you back. Can't have you stumbling in front of a truck now, can I? You annoy the fuck out of, but-" he cut himself off and glared at the wall as if it was suggesting something he wasn't so fond of.

"…_but?_"

"Never mind. I'll drag your ass home if I have to." He grumbled, letting his arms fall to his sides as they were crossed so tight across his chest before, I was sure he probably bruised his chest beneath that black turtleneck. But when he started to approach me, I felt myself take a step back. He stopped immediately, and there was a long, awkward pause between us. He seemed to be looking at me as if he was unsure of what he was doing and of course I felt like he looked. I was unsure if I wanted him so close to me.

After a moment, that signature frown of his returned and he stepped forward, grabbing my arm and pulling me out of the stall, wrapping my arm around his neck and _supporting me_. Haha… that was kind of cute. He glared up at me once, giving something of a frustrated pout. "So where do you live, Fuckass?"

"Signature name is back. I'm shocked."

"Don't make me repeat myself."

"Shouldn't you know this? Isn't John you're best friend?" I said, cocking an eyebrow at him.

"Something like that, I guess." He grumbled, refusing to make eye contact. Not that I could blame him. I felt damn uncomfortable too. If he had of known what I was really up to, there was no way he'd want to be this close to me. Awkward indeed, but I was too tired to get any blood where it would normally go in a situation like this. He gave a bit of a rough tug, almost pulling me face first down, but I caught myself and looked at him. "Come on. You're useless here today. Where the fuck do you live?"

"Shade and Clockwork." I grumbled.

"Somehow suiting." He grumbled and pulled me, and I hesitantly followed.

As we exited the school, I really couldn't help but lean on him a little. I knew he was weaker than me, but for one, I was tired. Second of all, I had to make it seem like I was legitimately sick so I wouldn't be caught. No. They're not excuses. Really, where do you get these ideas? Argh. You can be so frustrating sometimes, you know that? Just let me tell the damn story.

As I was saying, I couldn't help but find myself letting him support me. Even though it felt so comfortable, I couldn't help but let my mind wander. Was he still mad at me? What had gotten into him that caused him to talk to me again? Was it only because I 'was sick'? Honestly, this guy was confusing. And then out of the blue, I felt my cheeks flush once more at the memory of last time. Thankfully the blood stayed in my face, but a thought ran through my mind that hadn't occurred to me before, and what was worse, why was I even wondering such a thing?

What… or who was he thinking about when he was in the shower?

Why should I care about something so trivial?

As if he could read my mind, he suddenly spoke up, catching me off guard and take my mind off of it. "Terezi likes you." He said, but I couldn't quite see his face. His hair was hiding it mostly.

That was a bit off topic according to where my mind was. At least it was a nice distraction. "Well I would hope so. We're all friends."

I saw him grind his teeth a little. Odd reaction. "You know, for someone who always seems to have all the answers, you can be a dumbshit sometimes." He hissed, once more turning his face away. "I said Terezi likes you, you dumbass. As in she'd like to suck your face more often than one drunken night of I've never dare edition." He sounded much more stern this time.

"Oh…?" I couldn't help but raise my head a bit. So he meant in that way. "_…oh_." I saw him glance at me a little. No wonder, I kind of surprised myself from how unsure I sounded. I should have been all over this. But instead, I somehow didn't like this idea. Maybe it was because Terezi was so wild that I would never truly _own_ her? Also she was an awesome friend. Getting in some sort of a relationship with her would probably ruin that. It seemed kind of odd.

You know, especially with me having sudden waves of guilty hormones for one of her other friends.

Yeah. This situation just got a hell of a lot more awkward.

It didn't help that Karkat seemed to be waiting for an answer from me as we neared Shade and Clockwork campus. "Well?"

"Well what?" I asked, looking to him as his eyebrow furrowed. He was trying to look through my shades at my eyes. He really did want a fucking answer, didn't he?

"You have nothing to say about that?" he said, studying my expression much more intently than before.

I gave a small shrug and slid my arm away from around his neck. He didn't really fight it, but didn't stop waiting for a real answer. This kid was so obstinate. "I don't really know what to say."

"The way you sucked her face two weeks ago, I would have figured you'd be all over this chance, you fucking player."

"The same could be said for our little interaction, don't you think?" I said, cocking an eyebrow at him. I wasn't sure why I said it, maybe because I was getting tired of pussyfooting around the whole subject. Maybe because deep down I knew confronting the issue face to face might help. Maybe it was because I wanted an answer from him before I figured out my own dilemma on my Gog damned orientation. I liked women, so why was I jacking off to a memory of a guy jacking off? It made no sense.

Either way, my words sent a shade of red across his cheeks, before her ground his teeth again and put his palm on the small of my back and shoved me towards the main door of my campus. I stumbled a bit and turned around to look at him, watching as he fumed on the spot. "It's all your fault that happened, fuckass. You fell right into Vriska's hands and her fucking plot to-" he cut himself off, furrowing his eyebrow as if he suddenly realized he was telling me too much. So. Vriska had planned for this all to happen? And how in the living fuck would she know what exactly would happen during that whole evening?

"… does this have something to do with what she said to you to get you to go to the party?"

He stood silent for a moment, but frowned at me, a lot calmer than normal. Weird. I was expecting a rise out of him. Instead he sighed, and started to turn away. "Go rest you idiot. Don't be spreading your sick germs in class. I'll tell the professor that you got the flu. Unlike you, she actually likes me."

"Ouch man. Hurting my ego."

"Sleep, Dave." He hissed, and then spun on his heel, walking back towards the campus.

I stood stunned for a long moment, my jaw hanging open a little even after Karkat Vantas was far out of my sight. Then I couldn't help but feel my lips start to twitch into something of a smile.

That was the first time he called me _'Dave'_.

* * *

I had napped part of the afternoon away in my dorm, but John was still in class. Having the peace and quiet was nice for a change. How often did I get a chance to actually relax? Not very often. John was always up on his pranking, though he never dared do anything major pranking against me. I could stand the small pranks to an extent, but I'd lose my shit on anything major, especially lately since my mind had been far more than distracted.

Since the walk with Karkat this afternoon, my blood flow had been fairly normal, and I hadn't found myself running to the bathroom to jump in a cold shower or jerk off feverishly to relieve the straining that had been bothering me the past week. I couldn't exactly say those images had been wiped from my mind completely, but my mind danced around the fact that Karkat actually called me by my first name. He'd only ever given me a nickname or called me by my last name.

It was weird to think that Karkat was being _nice_… did he pity me for _'being sick'_? Or had he forgiven me for what occurred at his dorm? I wasn't really sure.

Then there was what he said about Terezi. It was weird. Two weeks ago I probably would have been all over this opportunity. She was fun, and had a huge 'I don't give a shit' attitude I liked. She and I had a similar sense of humor and she was cute to boot. I felt like I was on top of the world from what I remember when I got to make out with her, Now, two weeks later with my mind buzzing about the whole Karkat issue, I had no idea what to think of her supposed feelings for me.

What a mess.

I groaned and glared at the ceiling, now covered in posters that I'd managed to put up to avoid looking at the endless annoying white tiles. How on earth had I lost my cool like that? This all should have been a no brainer, but I couldn't help but wonder if I had somehow built up some feelings for Vantas. Or maybe it was just some sort of twisted lust I was feeling after watching the shower display. It didn't really make me feel any better about myself. Either option made me feel like shit. If option one was true, it meant I was lying about my orientation. If option two, I was just some sick fuck looking for a lay. Either way, it kept my mind spinning and left me with one massive fucking headache.

Again, I repeat. What a mess.

And it wasn't even the orgasmic kind.

I jolted suddenly when I heard my cell phone ringing, jumping up immediately and snatching it up. I couldn't help but smile with relief when the call display showed a picture of my bro, his own rap playing as a ring tone.

I quickly hit the answer button and held it up to my ear. "Hey bro." I said, but couldn't hide the grin I was displaying for no one in particular to see. It was a bit ironic… the king of irony who happens to be gay… calling me when I'm trying to figure out my own fucking orientation.

"Hey little man." I heard his smooth voice reply. I couldn't hear anything in the background, so I had assumed his boyfriend wasn't over. "Haven't heard from you in a while."

"Aww. Do you miss me bro? Should I come home every now and then to sooth your anxiety of not having someone else cool around?"

He chuckled. "Maybe just for some strife every now and then."

"I would have thought having Jake as a strife partner would have been good practice for you." I muttered a bit, leaning against the wall next to my bed. Jake was pretty good at long range combat, so he should have been a pretty good sparring partner for my bro. Except the last time I watched them spar it ended up being something scandalous after my brother had disarmed his boyfriend. And of course once the clothes started flying, so did I. I wasn't really in the mood for that kind of a show.

"Once I get close to him, the battle is pretty much over. I prefer close range combat, and you know that." He said. I could hear him shift a bit and take a drink of something.

"So I take it you still dominate him in more than one battle."

"Thought you didn't care about that shit?" I could practically see the grin, btu I knew he could practically see mine.

"How many times have I walked in on you two?" I chuckled. "You don't even bother trying to hide it half of the time."

"No reason to, the way I see it. You know how to mind your own business."

I went silent. Yeah. Mind my own fucking business. I sure exceeded in that while watching my classmate take the fucking dragon under his belt. Just minding my own fucking business while obsessing over such images to the point of taking my own fucking beast. At least temporarily. He must have caught my awkward silence, cause he cleared his through. "So. How's school?"

"Terrible conversation starter. You sound like a worried parent." I grunted.

"I did raise you. You might as well say I'm your dad."

"Then I'm filing for abuse with the amount of times you beat the shit out of me on the roof."

"Ouch, Dave. You're hurting my pride. It's practice. And it's not like you haven't done some damage to me either."

"Cause you're getting **_old_** man."

"Oh-ho! You're just full of spunk today, aren't you? Just wait until you come home at Thanksgiving. I'll give you the strife of a lifetime to prove I'm not as old as you think."

"Going back to those abuse charges." I laughed. My train of thought went to Thanksgiving though. I could almost bet that he was going to invite Jake over. Jake had no family anymore. Just his grandma who died when he was younger. Kid practically took care of himself. He was kind of a strange guy, and made me wonder how the actual fuck my bro felt feelings for him.

Now that I thought about it, Jake was considered straight before he and Dirk became a couple. Maybe having Jake there would be a good thing. I could ask him what made him realize that he liked my bro. Then again, weird topic, and talking to Jake tended to end in long winded conversations that I would eventually blank out. He was a bit self-centered, but my bro always seemed to balance him out. "Hey. Is Jake going to be there?" I asked before I could think about it.

"You bet. I wanted everyone I'm thankful for to be there, as corny as that is." His grin faded. Weird. "Do you not like him being here, Dave?"

"Nah. I don't mind." I said with a shrug. It was honest at least. He was just a little odd.

"So, what about you? Meet anyone interesting?" he asked. He almost sounded like he was prying. I narrowed my eyes, there was something really weird. He was insistent.

"A few people." I said, looking at the phone with suspicion. What was he trying to get at.

"Anyone you like?" he sounded hesitant asking.

"Okay. What the fuck, Dirk? You're doing a pow wow around this subject and I'm starting to get annoyed at what you're trying to insinuate, so can you just out and say it?"

He was silent for a long moment, but I heard him sigh and shift again. I could imagine him rolling his head back and leaning against the leather sofa in the living room, staring at the black painted ceiling there. "Dave, this is going to sound really fucking weird, all things considering. But I've come across the rumor that you have a _boyfriend_."

"Holy sweet mother fuck." Was the first thing that slipped out of my mouth. I could feel the word diarrhea trying to vomit it's disgusting voice through the cell phone at my brother, but I held my tongue somehow. I really wanted to chew him out for thinking such a thing, but I simply held my breath for a second and released it. "Where in the sweet fuck did you get that idea? Who the hell would spread a rumor like that and how the fuck would it get back home?"

I heard him tapping away on his own cell phone, then heard a beep in my ear. "This is where." He said very carefully. I grumbled and pulled my phone away from my ear, looking to see he'd sent me a file. I quickly hit the accept button and waiting for it to load. However, I felt color drain out of my already pale face when I was faced with the picture he sent me.

It was from that Friday night with the truth and dare session. I was overtop of Karkat making the fuck out with his face. He looked so timid, a strange look for him, and I strangely looked like I was enjoying myself.

I felt a rage suddenly, and couldn't understand who would take pictures and how the ever sweet living fuck it would get back to my brother. I ground my teeth for a minute as Dirk was silent on the other end, waiting for my response. Judging by the angle of the picture from what I remembered, it came from the couch. The only person sitting on the couch-

Kanaya. She was playing with her phone before the dare was initiated.

How the sweet ever loving fuck did Kanaya know my brother!?

As if he could read my mind, I heard Dirk speak up again from the phone, and I was forced to put it back to my ear. "Kanaya is Rose's girlfriend." He said. I felt a brick in my stomach. That wasn't news I really wanted to hear. "Kanaya sent it to Rose, and Rose in turn sent it to me. She's… worried."

"Nothing to fucking worry about." I was pissed, and I knew he could hear the venom in my voice.

"So straight man… what this then?"

"First of all, why the fuck does it matter?" I hissed. "I'm in College now and I don't need someone treating me like a kid. Second of all, it was a fucking Dare. I bet Kanaya ironically left that information out." I huffed, switching the phone from one ear to another. "We were playing a 'I have never' game with some truth and dare fucking mind boggling twist that Vriska made up. I stated I'd never fucking made out with a guy before and Vriska dared me to do it, and basically was told to make out with Karkat."

"So you said that, knowing that someone could dare you to do it? I thought you were straight?"

"Long fucking story, bro." I grumbled, glancing at the nearest wall in frustration. "Basically you had to roll dice to initiate the dare and if you got two sixes, you had to do it. I didn't think anyone would be able to pull it off so why the fuck should I be worried about it?" He was silent, but I could feel he was waiting for a better explanation. I sighed. "Kanaya said she'd never touched herself to the thought of a boy before and the guy in the picture took a drink and he admitted he was bi. Everyone was harassing the ever living fuck out of him so I took a fucking shot and said that I had too _which I haven't_." I made sure to add that, stressing it so Dirk didn't get the wrong idea. "When everyone stopped harassing him it was my turn, so I stated I'd never kissed or made out with a boy, and Vriska pulled out the fucking dice and rolled the sixes like a fucking gambling pro."

"She seems to have all the luck then…"

"Apparently. She's the only one who managed to roll double sixes, every fucking time."

"Hum." He groaned in thought, followed by a short silence. "And that's it?"

"That's it." I said firmly, staring hard at the wall. "If you don't believe me, ask Rose and Kanaya can tell you. After all, she was _there_."

Dirk let out a long sigh after a minute of thinking. "So, you don't feel anything for this boy…?"

I stayed silent. Mostly because I knew that even if I tried to lie to my bro, he'd catch on anyways. "I… I don't know to be honest." I said a little more quietly than normal, feeling ashamed once more at my recent bathroom escapades. "I think… _I think_ I might be confused." Was all I managed to mutter.

Dirk stayed silent for a minute as if trying to figure out what to say. But after a moment, he used his 'dad' voice, sounding like a guiding parent. After all, Rose and I didn't really remember what it was like to have parents. Only Dirk. "Well, you tried something new, adventurous. Maybe in your drunken escapade you found it exciting because it was something you'd never done before. So, perhaps your confusion with this boy is just you wanting to feel that exciting feeling again?"

"Maybe." Who knew? Maybe it was.

"You've said for years that you're straight, and I'm sure you know _obsession isn't a healthy thing_, Dave. So maybe you just need a _distraction_ from this guy. I'm sure you'll go back to being your normal confident self if you can keep your mind off of the thrill."

He had a point. Maybe a distraction was all I needed. Maybe this fascination with Karkat Vantas was just because I had enjoyed the softness of his lips. Maybe because it was because I was, dare I say, lonely and wanted someone next to me. Aside from my bro, I'd honestly never really been close to anyone for years. Last I was really close to someone was in early middle school… and he moved away in the blink of an eye. Not even sure I remembered his name anymore.

"Maybe." I said again.

Dirk gave a satisfied grunt. "So you'll be alright then?"

"Of course I will. Who the _fuck_ do you think you're talking to?"

"Heh. Good point." I could hear him grinning again. Before I could reply though, I heard knocking in the background back home. "Ah. Jake is here. We're going to _try something new today_ I think."

I shuddered. I could hear the lust in his voice. "Not really the visual images I wanted to see, bro."

He laughed at the annoyance in my voice. "I got ya, don't worry. I'll leave the details to just the two of us. So I'll talk to you later, little man?"

"Sure thing, bro. Stay cool." I grinned.

"As if that was hard." He chuckled, then hung up.

I let out a long sigh and flopped back on my bed, rubbing the bridge of my nose. Well then, that was a fine and dandy mess. Kanaya was Rose's _girlfriend_. Apparently this worry from Dirk stemmed from him seeing a picture of me making out with Karkat.

_Huh._

Now that I thought about it, why did it _matter_? Wasn't **_Dirk_** the one years ago obsessively trying to hook me up with boys? Yet for the last few years what I can remember is that he just suddenly stopped. Maybe he got the hint that I didn't swing that way. Still, why would he worry about the possibility of being gay? I narrowed my eyes at the ceiling in thought. He was gay, Rose apparently had a girlfriend so that apparently made her at least a lesbian if not bisexual. So… if I were gay, what would the huge deal be? I couldn't help but grind my teeth as I tried to think what the big concern was.

That was until my phone started vibrating in my hand, and a picture of Terezi sticking out her tongue popped up. I blinked and hit the ok button, watching as a text message popped up. I scanned it carefully for a second, not catching her normal whit and cackling in it at all.

_"Hey coolkid. Karkat said you went home sick, you faker! Too bad I know you differently. Since you're obviously sitting at home making up sick raps, how about you meet me after class at the café? There's something I want to talk to you about. See you in an hour, don't be late."_

I pursed my lips. Did Karkat tell her that I knew about her crush on me? What an idiot. I groaned and set my phone aside, glaring up at the ceiling again. How the hell could I talk to her about this with all of these mixed feelings I was getting from Karkat?

At the same time, my mind went back to Dirk, telling me I needed a damn distraction.

Hm.

I reluctantly picked up the phone, reading over the text message again, before hitting the reply button and typing the simplest reply I could. I had a feeling I knew what the conversation was about, but there was nothing set in stone until I got there, I supposed.

_"okay."_

* * *

_Oh hoooo. Sorry to cut it off there, lovelies. I know this looks terrible, but I promise the next chapter will make you happier that the note this one ended on. Again, thank you for your continued support, favorites and reviews! In the meantime, if you're looking for art, sneak peaks, and want to ask questions to the characters, come see me at __**archanememory . tumbler. com**__ (with no spaces of course!) :) See you soon!_


	11. Chapter 11: Absence

_Hey again guys! It's been almost exactly a week since I posted the last chapter, so I'm quite happy that I managed to get this one finished pretty much right on time! Albeit I did end up cutting the chapter down by about half… not a whole lot happens in this one sadly, but things will start to get better soon. I do apologize for the storyline to go so slow, but I've always been more of a sucker for a build up of things rather than rushing right to the facts. It always makes it feel more worth while, you know?_

_Anyways, I've been posting sneak peaks on tumblr, as well as thoughts and questions. Currently working on a Q+A things as well, and hope to have the first question I received from an anonymous member answered in the next 2 days as well. _

_Thank you for all of your continued support, and I hope you enjoy this chapter as much as the others. As always, read, review, and feel free to ask me anything on Tumblr! (archanememory)_

* * *

**Chapter 11: Absence**

* * *

It's kinda weird how time just seems to slip through your fingers when you find a way to distract yourself. For John, it could be focusing heavily on video games or fulfilling his pranksters gambit bullshit. For Rose, getting so into her violin or knitting that the world just passes her by. For me lately though, it was something a little different and something completely unexpected.

Spending my afternoons with Terezi on dates.

Hey, _whoa. Chill out._ What's got your panties in such a twist all of a sudden? You can't see it but I have both of my hands raised defensively with their open palms facing you and waving in a way that says I'm fucking innocent. Don't jump to conclusions so quickly. _Jeeze._ I swear you can be so sensitive sometimes.

Just let me continue, alright?

The longer we sit here and argue, the longer you have to _wait_ to get to the parts **_you wanna get to_**.

Why yes, yes I did just break the fourth wall. Chill the fuck out and let me tell the story, dammit.

Thank you. _Ehem._

As I was saying before you're little outburst there, it'd been a good three weeks since we last left off. It was mid-October by this point, and no. Fuck Halloween, you're not getting a Halloween chapter. You're going to get something a little bit better. But let me start off with how this current roller coaster began. Like I said, three weeks had passed since Terezi called me to the café, and as I had guessed, she asked if Karkat had mentioned to me about her feelings, and confessed that she had the hots for me. Welp, good looks come with being an egotistical asshole of a Strider, I guess.

Since then, we'd been seeing each other a lot more than before.

On this particular day, we decided to meet at the café again, and upon opening the bell with the small chime of a bell indicating a customer had arrived, I stepped in and found Tez at our normal booth. She waved me over with her signature grin, and I couldn't help but reflect the expression. I quickly walked over and sat across from her, and she immediately took my hand, chuckling her normal chuckle.

And before you get your panties in a twist, we were _not __**actually **__dating_.

"Hey there, honey. I feel like it's been ages since I've seen you." She cooed sarcastically as she gripped my hand. Admittedly, this fake dating with Terezi was a bit awkward, since I knew she had feelings for me, but so far it was working for me, and apparently working just as well for her. Win/win, right?

"Can you be anymore fake and corny? I'm an actor, remember? This fake improve bullshit doesn't really excite me."

"You want me to make you excited, Dave? You know I can." She grinned maliciously. I simply smirked at her and gave her a slight shake of my head. She rolled her shoulders, letting go of my hand and leaning back against her booth seat. She quickly rose her hand to the waiter to get his attention. "Oi! Jeff! Get over here and take our orders!"

The waiter looked at us with a sense of bore. He knew already what we were going to order and just rose his fingers, giving what looked to be a peace sign. "Two?"

"What if we decide to change our order someday, huh?"

"My head will cave in before that happens." He rolled his eyes and sauntered into the kitchen.

Terezi chuckled again. The kid was alright, he made this whole fake-date thing a bit more tolerable. However, I really wanted to talk to Terezi about this whole ordeal. Which is why I asked her to meet me later than usual. I stood from my seat and shifted over to the other side of the table, sitting next to Terezi as I usually had to put on a fucking show. That's what this whole God damn thing was about, putting on a show. But why, I still had no fucking clue. Today I was going to figure this out. She smirked at me and leaned her back against my front as I wrapped an arm around her, leaning my chin on her shoulder. "This is getting old. People don't even look anymore." I grumbled.

"It just means they know we're dating. You're off limits, and so am I."

"Is that the whole point of this?" I asked, looking up at her with a raised eyebrow.

She sat silently for a second before giving me a small smile, jabbing me playfully in the side. "Well, the only person I really want right now is you, and you made it perfectly clear that you don't like the idea of dating me."

"Sorry." I muttered. I still felt guilty about it, but I really couldn't see myself in a real relationship with her.

She rolled her shoulders again. "No biggie. Who knows, maybe the fake dating will make you want me more."

"Unfortunately, I doubt that."

"Ouch. You're hurting my pride." She smirked.

"I already told you it's not that I don't like you." I said to her, reassuring her.

"I know, I know Dave. It's just awkward dating your friend."

I shifted my jaw a bit, grinding my teeth with impatience. "So… you never did explain this to me… why are we doing this anyways? If it's not to get me to like you, what exactly is the purpose of fooling our friends as well as others on campus into thinking we're an item? It makes no sense."

"Hmm." She leaned back against me a bit, looking up at the ceiling. "A few reasons really." She said, raising her hand and pointing to her index finger. "First of all, there's been an asshole in my class persistently chasing my ass to the point where I'm afraid I won't see him coming the more I lose my eyesight. Making him think I'm taken should get him to back off."

"Okay. You could have just told me that, you know. I'm pretty sure I could keep him off your ass."

"And get you expelled? Then who would I go on fake dates with?"

"Why would you need fake-dates? You can easily get real dates." I blinked at her from behind my shades.

"Couldn't get a real one with you." She grinned down at me, as if challenging me.

"I'm just a bit hard to get, Tez. Again, sorry." She shrugged. "So, that was one reason…"

She nodded, pointing to her middle finger, once more looking up at the ceiling. "Second, it got Karkat to stop bugging me about asking you."

Well, that was a surprise. Part of me felt a bit disappointed… but maybe this was a good thing. "Karkat tried to get you to confess to me?"

"Yeah. When he found out I liked you, he was insistent on getting me to ask you. And you know what he's like. He's stubborn and will do whatever he can to try and get his way."

"Hah!" I laughed. "He does, but it never works that way with me."

"Cause you're stubborn, too." I just smirked at her in response. It was damn true, I was as stubborn as they came. "But once we started the whole fake dating thing, he's kinda simmered off. He asks about us every now and then, but doesn't really make it a topic of conversation for very long."

"Hmm." I groaned, looking passed Terezi and at some artwork on the other side of the room as if it held some great interest for me. To be honest, Karkat and I had hardly talked since then, which admittedly I didn't like. He wasn't outright avoiding me like he did after the drunken escapade, but more or less just gave blunt answers. He didn't even really react much when I tormented him. He'd simply brush me off and rolls his eyes at me, and sometimes grumble about how I was too clingy…

Then mention how I'd disappoint Terezi if I didn't pay enough attention to her.

"And third-" she pointed to her ring finger, then stopped. I blinked up at her.

"Third?"

"Hum."

"Don't say there's a third if you're not going to tell me what it is."

"Well…" she started, giving me a skeptical look before eying the lattes that Jeff brought out to us, her nodding to him in in thanks. She quieted her tone even as he walked away. "Well, the third reason is kind of a weird one."

"And opening admitting you're disappointed in not being able to get a date with me isn't kind of weird?"

"Well, Rose asked me to."

I paused completely as I stared at her. So, Rose was in on this weird 'pretend to date' shenanigans? That did seem weird actually, much weirder than having Terezi outwardly say how much she was disappointed she couldn't have the real deal. "How… how do you know Rose?"

"Kanaya must have told her about us." Well, at least that made sense. Not that I particularly liked it. It seemed really out of place, suspicious. Terezi must have sensed my unease with what she said, cause she turned around and looked me straight on. "I don't really understand her motive behind it all either. More or less she asked me if I was going to tell you about my feelings."

"And you did… did she tell you to pursue me after or something?" I asked, eyebrow still raised in suspicion.

"Not exactly, but she did say she would be very happy if we got together…"

So maybe Rose didn't have much to do with it after all. Still, how did she know Terezi enough to think she would like me dating her? Augh, as always, Rose confused the living hell out of me. I couldn't really say much though. While I had that thing where my gut seemed to be right on the money when it told me to worry or not to worry, Rose always seemed to have some way of knowing things as well. Maybe coming to the same campus as her was a bad idea… but she would argue that it was predestined. Such a confusing woman.

Either way, I would have to think about this crap later. For now I'd have to suck it up and pretend that everything was as everyone thought it was, unless someone asked for some sort of heavy make out. Oddly enough, the idea of making out with Terezi didn't really excite me like it did the night we all drank. Maybe it was just the alcohol talking, it's hard to say.

Terezi blinked at me from behind her red shades. If you looked closely enough, you could see her eyes were slightly clouded over. The poor girl really was going blind. I felt a bit guilty knowing that she was going to lose her eyesight, and this whole fake thing between us would only make her happier if it were the real deal.

But I just couldn't do it.

"You done interrogating me, Mr Actor?"

"You're the future lawyer. So what would you say?"

"Case closed?"

"For now I guess." I shrugged, taking my latte as I reached around her. Her hand grabbed mine as I did so and once more she stared at me. Man, this was uncomfortable, but I could see her eyes glancing at a table across from us who kept looking in our general direction. Maybe they knew that dick that kept hitting on her and wouldn't lay off. Sigh. Show time. "Oh? Want me to feed it to you?" I grinned, lowering my shades a bit and watching the eyes across from us stare even more intently.

Terezi grinned a bit, letting go of my hand. I carefully lifted the frothy hot beverage to her lips, tipping it back just a little to carefully tilt it between her partially opened lips. A careful glance forward confirmed the curious eyes were quick to look away, and I heard a soft chuckle come from the girl in front of me, leaning against my chest. "Thanks Dave." She smiled, a bit different from her normal grin.

I could only offer a bit of a smile back to my friend. "Anytime, Tez."

* * *

Classes continued as normal it seemed. Classes were long and boring, torment Karkat a little during class, dates with Terezi after school, and homework and winding down after that. It never seemed like I had time to do anything anymore. Then again, going from having a whole year off of school to this was kind of a shock. I wasn't used to waking up at the ungodly hour of 7:00am. Too early, dammit. Of course, my clock before I came to school was set so I wasn't getting to sleep until somewhere around 3:00am-4:00am. That kinda came with the DJ-ing and all of that.

John always seemed to be cheery in the mornings, and this particular Monday was no different. He was up and humming through the door at me to get out of bed at said atrocious hour , to which I responded with a groan and tossed a pillow over my head. Eventually his nagging next to me made me give up on getting any more sleep and I stumbled to the bathroom to start my day off with a shower. Shampoo, conditioner and all. After getting dressed and shoving a piece of toast down my throat with a glass of apple juice, I was on my way to class, John separating from me sooner as always as his classes were in a different building than mine.

Upon sitting down in the Lecture theater for a class on taking a bajillion notes on proper stage etiquette, I was greeted by Mia giving the back of my chair a bump with her hip as she passed on by. I didn't bother looking back at her, I was getting pretty sued to ignoring the ever living shit out of her. Yes, ignoring. Not annoying. Getting my facts straight here and all of that. She rather enjoyed trying her best to get my attention, so I countered by treating her like an insignificant insect.

And the professor started taking attendance. I was closer to the end of the list since my last name was with an S. When she called for me, I simply raised my pen, flicking it in his general direction as I stared hard at my note book, wondering if I brought enough paper for note taking today.

"Vantas isn't here?" I heard come from the front of the class.

Of course as you probably guessed, this fucking caught my attention like the wind blowing a truck in your face. Fuck newspapers in the wind, you can brush those fuckers off, but a truck is a different story. Shut up, my metaphors are awesome.

At any rate, yes. Upon hearing the professor question whether or not Karkat was here, I rose my head and looked across the room, where he normally sat only to see that yes, his seat was empty. Strange. Perhaps he came down with something over the weekend. After all, he didn't really hang around with us all weekend either.

Then again, if he could avoid hanging out with us at all, he would. He was just that closed off kind of guy.

I was a bit surprised with myself however at realizing that I didn't… well… realize he wasn't in class. Perhaps the distraction with Terezi was working as my brother had pointed out. Perhaps too much seeing as how I didn't even notice that one of my best friends was not in class. That was a bit of a problem.

I stared at his empty seat for a few minutes, wondering if he was alright, until I realized I had already missed a sheet of note taking.

_Fuck._

The next day I managed to pull myself out of bed earlier to wait at the entrance of the auditorium, where I would no doubt see Karkat pass by me and confirm he was alright. I had figured that going to his dorm might be a bit creepy, considering the last time I was there and what happened… also what had happened after might mix and be a bad idea all around.

However, much to my curiosity, he was absent again. It was a cause for worry.

I still refused however to go to Karkat's dorm, and instead met up with Terezi, Jade and John after school. I figured questioning his closest, longest known friends would be a better idea than storming awkwardly to his dorm. However, they all responded pretty much the same way I did.

"Karkat hasn't been to class for 2 days?" John asked, his eyes bulging at the news.

"That's weird… he only ever missed a few days in school… he's usually determined to have perfect attendance." Jade said, his hand holding her chin in thought and eyes scanning around her as she got the gears of her brain going on the situation.

"He probably isn't feeling well." Terezi said a bit quietly. "The only time he's never shown up to class is because he's been really sick."

"Cause that's not worrisome or anything." I grumbled, looking at my 'girlfriend.' Terezi stood quietly for a moment just staring at me. She could probably see I was concerned. Probably in her eyes, too concerned. I chewed on the inside of my lip as we had agreed to keep the farce about our dating up, even around our friends, and my concern for Karkat automatically meant it could be a trigger that I cared more for him? Oi. "Come on, he's our friend. I'd do the same for you if you suddenly stopped coming to class with no reason given."

"Except Karkat is as cold and antisocial as they come, so of course he's not going to tell us anything is wrong." She said, a small pout on her face.

"I can't believe this… are we actually arguing over whether or not we should check on the well-being of our friend or not?" I questioned, glancing over my shades at her. I couldn't help but feel skeptical… she seemed so against this.

"I was going to ask the same thing." Jade said quietly, but looked to John. "I agree with Dave. Even though he might not like it, someone should go check up on him." She nodded as if confirming with herself it was okay. "I'll go today after class and see if everything is alright. I'll text everyone and let them know the verdict.

Good. That saved me from the awkward return to his dorm and would also help alleviate my concern. Then I could get back to the norm I had settled into where I wasn't finding myself with my hand down my pants every hour or so. That shit was tiring as fuck.

We all agreed this was the best course of action, and went about our daily business. The remainder of our classes, after school fake date and back to the dorm. I couldn't help but find myself tossing my phone back and forth between my hands, waiting for Jade's reply on the matter. It was getting kind of late, so the fact that Jade went right after school to see him and we hadn't heard from her yet was a bit worrisome. Augh. Why was I worrying so much?

John just smiled re-assuringly across the table at me as he took a bite of rice we'd made up. "Don't worry Dave. Jade will let us know the moment she can get through to him. If anything was wrong, she would have let us know by now."

I couldn't help but frown a bit at my roommate. I felt pathetic that he could see I was worried about Karkat when clearly I was dating their other best friend. I kept trying to tell myself it was only because karkitty was a friend, but signs including the way my body reacted from the sight of him showering was clearly pointing in another direction. I wasn't sure I liked this. Maybe I was just curious… who knew?

Just as I shoved my fingers between my hair and set my phone down, didn't it start vibrating, along with John's. We were both quick to snatch them out and read over the text that Jade sent us, but unfortunately, it was not the reply I was looking forward to seeing.

_'Tried for hours. Can't get a hold of him. The RA said he was in, but was sick and didn't want to be disturbed :('_

"Fucking brat." I grumbled, slamming my phone down and standing up.

John jolted at my aggression and stood up as well, palms flat on the table as I moved towards the door. "D-Dave! Where are you-"

"Where do you think? I'm going to make sure he didn't choke on his own vomit or something." I hissed behind me as I slid on my sneakers.

"The Resident Assistant said he didn't want to be disturbed… which sounds like him I guess…" he muttered near the end of his sentence.

"Exactly why I'm sucking up my pride and going." I said firmly. John tensed behind me as he stared in my general direction. I couldn't actually see him, but I could feel his tension and eyes on my back. "I've managed to break down those protective walls of his before, I'll do it again. It's for his own good if someone at least knows he's okay."

I glanced behind my shoulder to see John looking guffawed for a moment, before giving a bit of a nod. "I guess… if anyone has a chance of getting him to open up… well." He paused for a moment before shying his eyes away. I couldn't help but stare in piqued curiosity. He knew something. He must have. But what? He finally looked back and offered a smile. "I guess that'd be you, Dave."

"_I'm one stubborn son of a bitch._" I smirked, grabbing my hoodie and throwing it over my shoulders before sauntering through the door. I didn't hear John move at all as I left. It was curious. What was it that John knew that no one else did? Maybe I was overthinking it, but my instincts were telling me otherwise. John Egbert knew something about Karkat Vantas that he wasn't sharing. I would find out eventually, but as of this moment in time, I was more concerned about the well-being of said friend.

The walk to Vantas' dorm was quick, but my steps **_may_** have been _just a little bit hurried_. I was determined to find out if Karkat was indeed alright, especially since he seemed to be locking himself up in his room. I'd heard horror stories of people getting violently sick to their stomachs and lodging carrots in their throats only to suffocate to death. Being the cold shouldered asshole he could be, if anything did happen to him, it'd be a while before anyone noticed. I was taking initiative to make sure he was okay.

I said nothing when I entered the building, nor to the person standing next to me in the elevator as it took me up 4 floors. Ironically, the guy next to me was the same guy who I shared the elevator ride down with last time I was here. He seemed ot have a staring problem, so I frowned past my shades, shoving my hands in my pockets. "What's up?"

"You're slightly more dressed this time." He said sarcastically.

"Right. Cause walking around in my underwear at night in October is totally my norm." I shrugged as he frowned at my sarcasm, shifting out as soon as the door slid open. I gave him a peace sign as I spun on my heel and the elevator doors closed, taking him back up to whatever floor he was on.

Didn't know, didn't care. Karkat.

I quickly made my way to room 412, noting once more that Karkat's door was plain, unlike others who posted white boards, sticker decorations, or even their names on them to let people know who they were. It was so him.

Without much thought, I rose my fist and tapped ont eh door with my knuckle. I could hear it echoing inside the room, remembering all too well the guy didn't have much to brighten up the apartment during my last unexpected visit. I waited, but nothing came. I couldn't swallow the pang of worry that fell deep into the pit of my gut as I once more rose my fist, but pounded on the door with insistence. "Oi. Karkat! You okay in there?" I shouted a bit, but being careful not to draw too much attention.

Still no one answered. I bit my lip and pounded again, this time pressing my ear to the door to listen for any kind of movement. It took a moment, but I finally did hear the sound of someone walking across the floor quietly, then stopping on the other side. However, they made no attempt to open the door. Chances were he was trying to make it seem like he was out. I sighed and pressed my forehead to the door, grabbing the doorknob and giving it a gentle twist. Locked. Another frustrated sigh.

"Look, Karkat. I know you're there." I was greeted with deafening silence. What an asshole. I pursed my lips in thought, letting go of the door handle and thinking carefully. I finally looked up, just barely pulling my forehead away from the door. "I just wanted to make sure you were okay. Everyone's worried about you, bro. Jade was here but was basically shooed out, and I betcha you'll do the same thing to me too. But before you do, can I at least get confirmation on something?"

Again, the silence was so overbearing, I might as well have been talking to myself.

"You've never texted me or called me, but I'm sure you still have my number. Will you call me if you need anything?"

Playing a broken fucking record here, but again, the asshole was giving me the silent treatment. I gave a frustrated grunt, pressing my head against the frame of the door, talking to the crevice where the door and frame would separate were it not for the lock. Maybe he didn't have my number anymore after all. Probably deleted it ages ago since I drive him batshit crazy. "Okay… then how about this… can you at least tell me if you'll be okay? 1 knock for yes, 2 knocks for no."

I waited a long moment, feeling my shoulders sagging at the ridiculous silence I was being given. It was frustrating, infuriating. My eyes fell to the floor, taking a step back. Maybe I should send John over… the two of them seemed close, and anytime I tried to get close to Karkat, he just pushed me away. Like magnets or some shit. The more you push them together the more violently they'll push away or something along those lines. Fuck if I knew, I was an actor. Not a god damn physics professor.

At any rate, clearly Karkat was not going to answer me, so I decided it was probably best if I got John to come out and handle the situation. I stepped back and was just starting to walk down the hallway, flipping out my phone and punching in a quick text to John-

_Knock._

I froze completely, slowly daring to look behind my shoulder back at 412. It was still deathly silent, but I was damn sure I heard that knock come from Karkat's door. I stared for a long moment, waiting for any kind of a sign to say he was going to let me in, but apparently that was all he was willing to muster.

My thumb slid away from the 'send' option on my phone, and I felt a small smile creep up on my face.

He wasn't letting me in… but this was _something_.

And _something_ was currently better than **_nothing_**.


	12. Chapter 12: Open Doors and Opportunities

_Heyyyyyyyy Guys! So here we are, less than a week later with a new chapter. Once again, I had to cut it shorter than anticipated, but I had planned on cutting it off even MORE before than I did. However, where I wanted to cut it off would have left this chapter a bit dry, and I feel like I've tugged you all along long enough and decided you need a treat._

_My fingers need a treat and need to write this stuff!_

_Thanks to everyone who's been favoriting and following either me or this story. It means a lot! Also a few people are following on Tumblr now. YOWZA. Soon, I suspect I'll have to host some sort of contest in regards to this story, but I'll need to think it over slowly and carefully. HUM._

Yes, Archane likes contests. And I'm sure you do as well!

_Anyways, enough jibber jabber. I'll let you continue off from last time. I hope you enjoy, as always. Please read and review! Your support keeps me going strong on this story! Much love!_

* * *

**_Chapter 12: Open Doors and Opportunities._**

* * *

That knock was really all I needed as re-assurance. Karkat Vantas did not hate me. In fact, I began to wonder if Karkat liked my company better than even Jade's, or John's, perhaps even Terezi's? Jade said she couldn't get an answer, but somehow I managed to get that little sound out of him, assuring me he would be alright.

Honestly, it did not stop me from worrying however.

For that night though, I could barely sleep as I thought about this little change. I was so sure before that he wanted nothing to do with me, and yet in a moment of weakness, he at least cared enough to let me know he would be alright. Maybe it was because he saw I wasn't there to torment him, but instead actually legitimately worried for his well-being and wanted to comfort him. It really was hard to say without outwardly approaching him and talking to him on the subject. But after that one knock, of course there wasn't a sound. In fact when I went back, I thought I heard him shuffle away from the door, sure that I had left as well.

But that one knock was enough.

Enough to know that **_Karkat Vantas was alright_**, and that he somehow trusted me enough to open a crack in the window of opportunity.

Red eyes traced the edges of each of the posters facing me from my ceiling. If it wasn't for my cell phone and my alarm clock to tell me what time it was, I probably would have lost track of the time hours ago. It was roughly 3 in the morning and I was still pondering over what the hell to do about my sick friend. He said he would be okay, but that hardly alleviated my worries. After all, Jade said he was all about his perfect attendance, and knowing how stubborn he was, it had to be pretty bad if he'd already missed 2 classes. I wondered if he would be in school the next day?

Rolling over, I shoved my face in my pillow and groaned into it, wondering just what I was going to do if Karkat didn't show up again. I was _sure_ he wouldn't let me in still, so what in the ever living fuck could I do to make sure he was indeed okay?

I grumbled as I glared at the poster covered ceiling again, watching as Sweet Bro just kind of stared back at me as I clenched my fingers into my sheets as I tried to think about what to do about the kitten. Not a literal fluffy meowing puff of adorableness, but Karkitten. But it was late, I was tired, but my brain just would not shut up. How in the ever living fuck was I going to be able to think of something to do while this tired, and how was I going to sleep with my brain being so fucking noisy?

My eyes darted to my bedside where I rolled over, scooping up a _math book_ and opening it somewhere in the middle, throwing it over my face.

It took all of 5 minutes to finally pass the fuck out.

And even when I did, I dreamt of _Karkat_, and how he was in _desperate need of help._

* * *

To no one's surprise, not mine, or anyone else's, Karkat didn't show up again on Wednesday. I couldn't help but frown when he didn't come to class, setting off a feeling of unease in the pit of my stomach. Three days and he still was bad enough that he hadn't come to class. He knocked and signified he'd be okay… so _why_ wasn't he here?

It was when the teacher took attendance though that caught my attention. He didn't even _bother_ asking if Karkat Vantas was present. In fact, he skipped right over Vantas and went to Wheeler. I couldn't help but feel my eyes bulge. Was he getting kicked out of class for too many days absent? That wasn't right… he was only missing three days. **It was bullshit**! They couldn't kick him out!

I hardly paid attention all class, my notebook only having a few notes taken down as I tapped my pencil with a heavy lack of patience. I know the professor noticed as he eyed me more than once and wouldn't stop glaring until I set my pencil down. I guess I was being disruptive or something like that, but he fucking disrupted me first by not even bothering to look for Vantas. I'd give him a piece of my mind once class was over.

Karkat was going to be okay… he practically told me he was. _He'd be back!_

The bell hummed, indicating the end of class and everyone started packing up their shit. I was quick to simply jump up and hurry down to where the professor was organizing his notes, and slam my hands down on his desk. He glared at me with a vengeance before adjusting his reading glasses at me, a stern frown written all over his face. You might be older than me buddy and have some sort of fancy teaching degree for mother fucking acting, but age meant nothing to me. Years of brotherly strife taught me that you don't have to back down simply because someone is older.

I could feel some eyes on us, but I didn't care.

"Mr Strider, making yet another scene. You really like to be center stage, don't you?"

"Yes, but that's not the point, teach." I grunted, tapping the back of my hand on his attendance papers as I glared at him, my shades sitting on top of my head for a change. "Karkat **will** be back. Don't write him off. That's a low blow."

"Yes, I know he'll be back Mr. Strider."

Well, foot in mouth syndrome apparently. I blinked a few times, straightening out my back as I cocked an eyebrow at him. "You… do? Why didn't you call for him in attendance then?" I glowered, partially prodding, partially finding it odd that he seemed to have him pre-written off.

He was un-moving as he shoved his papers in his briefcase, then snapped it shut, standing up straight and looking down on me. He was surprisingly tall for a man in his 50's, and I could easily see he was trying to intimidate me. Then again, this was the same guy who I was late for on my first day and kicked his god damn door in. We started off on a bad foot, and apparently we were just going to continue down this road. I didn't like him, and he sure as hell didn't like me. "Because he will not be back this week, Mr. Strider."

"And how do you know that?" I grunted.

"Dave. Aren't you and Mr. Vantas _friends_ of some sort?" he asked. I simply stared and said nothing. I wasn't really sure what we were. I'd like to think of us as friends, but it was hard to say with how cold he was to me… then there was the case of seemingly endless erection after I played peeping fucking tom.

"Is there a **_point_** to that question?" I retorted sourly.

"Indeed there is Mr Strider. I can see you are worried for your _'friend'_, but apparently you don't even know the reason for his absence." He said cooly. Ouch. I felt that one. Worse punch in the face that I'd felt in some time, and it wasn't even a physical one! "Judging by that standpoint, I would say you probably don't even have the right to worry. After all, I'm sure if _he wanted_ to alleviate your concerns, _he would have told you_ he'd be absent for at least a week due to his **circumstances**."

"What **circumstances**?" I hissed. I was getting impatient.

"That, **_Mr Strider_**, is none of your concern. If you haven't been enlightened, _then you don't need to be_." I could see a bit of a victorious smirk play across his lips, barely seeping through his poker face. Mine was faltering, and I was gnawing the inside of my mouth. I hated his logic. If it were John who was missing, yes. That would make perfect sense. But this was Karkat-fucking-Vantas, who didn't let anyone get up in his business. He didn't tell people shit about what was on his mind or where he was going or what he even ate for dinner!

The professor had long brushed past me as the thoughts attacked my brain.

What did I really know about him anyways? His name was Karkat Vantas, he was a Cancer, he liked Rom-Coms and had a loud mouth which made him fun to torment.

What right_ did_ I have to know about what was going on in his life if this was all I knew about him?

"Nice one, teach." I grumbled, as I felt my fists tighten. But everyone was long out of the Lecture Theater.

* * *

_I had enough._

By the time the day wound down, I found all of the teachers did the same as the first professor, and simply did not call Karkat's name. Apparently there was a reason for him not being there that was none of my concern according to said first asshole. It made me frustrated to say the least. Was it more than him just being sick? Maybe there was something worse going on, or maybe the sickness was something so fucking extreme that it could cause him a further outage.

This week. He would be gone _**all week**_.

That was pretty much the only hint I got. They knew he would be out a week for sure, but why and if it would be longer than that escaped my mind, and that bothered the ever living fuck out of me.

So during my last class, I came up with a plan, finally agreeing on going to one other person who I knew was at least in the near vicinity of him in the past few days.

Jade looked at me with an odd look as I described my plan to her. I must have seemed really out of the blue, especially for me. Her glasses slid down the bridge of her nose a bit as her face straightened out in seriousness. "You're going to do _what_?"

"What, you think I can't cook?"

"Can you?" she asked skeptically, folding her arms across her small chest.

"I doubt hot pockets in a microwave counts, huh?"

"And you want me to help you? What makes you think **I** can cook, Dave?"

"Your brother is my room-mate, Jade. I hear enough about your cooking to know you're the right person to go to."

She stared at me a long moment before letting out a long sigh, fixing her glasses. "You have quite the nerve Dave Strider. You realize how he's going to react to this whole thing, right?"

"I have a general idea, yes. But maybe your brother is rubbing off on me." I shrugged. She still didn't seem too enthused. "It's for his own good, Jade. He could be in serious trouble for all we know. Apparently the teachers know what's going on, but we don't."

"Who said I don't know?" Jade asked, raising an eyebrow, but I could see she was a terrible actor.

"You don't though."

"No, not really, but you assume a whole hell of a lot, Dave. That's going to get you in trouble one day. Possibly within the next few if you pursue this."

"I just want to make sure he's okay, Jade. Is that wrong?"

She thought long and hard on the subject for a bit, before allowing her shoulders to roll, sag, and sigh. Like a whip, her hands snapped out to my wrist and started tugging me along. "Alright, but you're going to have to pay attention, Dave. Because I'll only help you today. Got it?"

I smiled in thanks at Jade, giving a nod. "Got it."

We fled to her dorm, and the lucky brat had a single… as in no room-mate. I couldn't help but cringe at the sheer sterile look of the place. Everything was pretty much white except for her wood floors and furniture. Aside from that, her set up was very nice. She had her own kitchen and living area, a small bedroom and bathroom, which we were lucky to have our own bathroom as well. She had lots of science and geology magazines laying around, and some plushy octopus things. There was also a bunch of plants she had growing around the area. Lime green seemed to be the color of her choice, as her bed, as well as some of her dishes and appliances proudly exclaimed her love of the color.

It was so damn clean.

So, you have probably put two and two together to realize I decided to make Karkat something to eat. Yup. Dave Strider is not a fucking cook though, so the first person I could think of to help me with such an ordeal was Jade Harley. As I had said to her before, john had always bragged up how good of a cook his sister was, and every now and then he came through the door with some Tupperware full of her cooking. Even reheated, it always smelled good.

While I didn't outright want her to actually make this for Karkat, I wanted her to show me how. After all, it would be pointless for me to get her to make it and I give it to him.

We got straight to work. Since we were still thinking the chances were that he was sick, we decided that making something that would be easy on his stomach would be ideal. Since Jade had been around Karkat far longer than I had been, she came up with the idea of a chicken vegetable soup. Jade was very patient with me and my sarcasm, and didn't even seem to notice or even stare when I took my shades off, fearful of getting them covered in flour or chicken grease or some shit.

Jade started the soup by putting the broth stock in and added a few spices to give it more flavor. She took each one and described it to me as well as got me to taste each time one was added to determine whether or not it was a good choice, but hell. It was all a good choice, and she damn well knew that too. Since she was teaching me and not doing it mostly for me, she also got me playing with a few things as well. She'd be quick to stop me if I went for something she thought would be bad, like the tobasco sauce in soup, and I'd joke with her back.

She was pretty laid back for the most part, which was nice.

We cooked up the chicken separately; spicing it lightly to make sure it wasn't just water logged chicken. She explained Karkat always preferred things with a softer flavor and nothing too extraordinary. Seemed a bit weird if you asked me, but I clearly didn't know him enough. He was so loud, one would think he would like his flavors to be equally as loud, but apparently not.

"Are you kidding? John decided once when he came over to have tacos, and he pleaded to make sure the spices weren't too overpowering. So doesn't John add a bunch of Cajun spice and worchestershire sauce to Karkat's taco. John ate it after Karkat practically choked on it and gave him his, but you know what my brother is like."

"I'd imagine Karkat was a sputtering mess of nonsense."

"_Profane_ nonsense."

"Figured as much." I laughed a bit, carefully cutting up the carrots we'd skinned earlier. I was making sure to cut them in real small portions, in case he was sick to his stomach and it would get caught in his throat. As I had said before, I had heard of such things happening, and with no one around to really take care of him, I didn't want to take any chances. I saw Jade breaking up some celery stalks next to me and went to put them in, but I stopped her, casting a worried glance to them. "Could you chop them up finely?"

"Why? To spread the flavor more?"

"So he doesn't choke." I said calmly, but seriously.

Jade stared at me for a long moment before offering a calm smile, shaking her head and taking the breaks she had, doing the same as I was. She was silent for a long moment, chopping the celery up more than twice as fast as I was cutting the carrots, and then finally uttered something I didn't think I'd hear from her. "You really care about him, don't you Dave?"

I stopped completely, jolting a bit on the spot and looking at the bright eyed girl next to me. "I'm sorry? He's my friend."

"Is he?" she asked, daring to look at me inquisitively.

I couldn't help but frown, looking back down at the cutting board and taking my frustration out on the carrot, cutting it even harder now. "You're not the first person to ask me that today." I said quietly, my red eyes glaring at the cutting board. Jade tilted her head as me as she walked around me and scraped the celery bits into the soup water we were concocting, never taking her eyes away from me, but I refused to look at her. How could I? I was ashamed.

There. You heard it. **Dave Strider** was _fucking ashamed._

"I doubt he considers me one. After all I torment the ever living fuck out of him. Honestly this is just how I am. I'm sarcastic and I'm a bit of an asshole sometimes, and honestly I just don't really know how to sit back and be a nice guy, I guess." I sighed, feeling my face twist up as I was torn about what to say or feel. Jade Harley was getting words out of me… maybe it was because I was so worried, maybe cause I needed to get it out. "I hardly know anything about him, and that kind of pisses me off… I try and consider him a friend, and the more I think about how I've treated him and how closed off he is, it's no wonder he-"

"That's not what I meant, Dave." She said quickly, cutting me off. I dared to look at her emerald eyes, staring at me intensely as she put down her knife and put a hand on her hip. She looked dead serious in fact. It was kind of scary how she looked right then. "What I meant was do you consider Karkat just a friend?"

I felt my eyes widen at her words, and my jaw slowly drift ajar.

"Out of all of us, you stuck to Karkat the hardest. He tease and torment him the most, you do stuff just to get his attention, and now that he's out of class, you just aren't… well. You!" she said, motioning to me. I closed my mouth and straightened up, giving her a cautious glance. She had me on the spot, and I wasn't sure how to react to it all. What could I do or say? Fuck, did she know that a few weeks ago I was getting frequent hard ons thanks to Karkat? I bit my bottom lip and looked down at the carrots, suddenly feeling a wave of nausea going over me. I felt ashamed again.

She continued still. "Clearly you're worried about him, we all are. Maybe it's just cause you didn't grow up with him, or maybe you're actually a really sensitive person, as hard as that can be to believe."

"Ouch." I pouted at her.

"Shush you." She said, waggling her finger. "What I want to know Dave, is do you feel something else for Karkat than just a friendship? Cause the way you act about him clearly says otherwise."

I hung my head and sighed at the cutting board. If it wasn't for making sure I didn't cross contaminate the food, or mess up my awesome hair, I would be running my fingers through it out of frustration. "Jade… I don't really know." I said honestly. There. A fucking weight off of my chest. I looked to her with the same seriousness she had been throwing at me, feeling my shoulders stiffen. "I honestly don't know if I feel anything like that for Karkat. I'm straight. I always have been. I can't see why all of a sudden I would take some random liking for boys, especially someone as loud as him."

"You complement each other. He's loud, and you're laid back."

"I just… I dunno. I worry about him as all, but I dunno how deep that runs… you know?"

Jade smiled and reached over, taking my hands and helping me finish cutting the carrots and scraped them off into the pot. I looked at her as she smiled her toothy smile, slightly buck toothed like her brother, but adorable none-the-less. John was lucky to have such a little sister. "You know Dave, maybe you aren't gay. Liking one guy doesn't necessarily make you swing that way…. Just means you'd be willing to make an exception." She shrugged with a smile. I blinked in response.

"What are you-" I started, but she cut me off by waggling her finger again.

"_If_ you act on those feelings. After all, the biggest lie you will ever tell is the one you tell to yourself." I made to say something again, but stopped, glancing away. What could I say? Clearly my body had reacted to Karkat's masturbation, and continued to do so until I distracted myself with Terezi… what if she was right?

"What about Terezi…" I said quietly, but felt Jade give me a gentle nudge.

"I already know about you and Terezi." My jaw popped open again. "She told me after you let her down about the situation."

"Ah…"

"Not that I necessarily agree with you guys fake dating, but if it's working for both of you, then I guess that's fine until you can be honest with yourself."

"Complicated situation is complicated." I muttered softly, watching as she passed me a few pea pods, then carefully mimicked her movements to get them out.

"It is complicated, but doesn't overcoming a challenging situation make it feel like it's worth it in the end?" she asked, smiling at me again. Once more, I simply blinked as I let her words sink in. "I'm sure every good actor knows that, so this must be law for you since you're an amazing one."

"You saw through me." I said before I even knew I was saying it.

She simply smiled, rolling her shoulders. "I can be a good judge of character I get. Also your room-mate is my brother."

"Good point." I laughed, dropping the peas in the broth and smiling a bit at Jade. It was weird, listening to her and talking to her about this actually seemed to help me lift a weight off of my shoulder. While it gave me a lot more to think about, it also gave me a general idea on which direction I should start going.

And right now, my Strider Compass was telling me to go towards Karkat Vantas.

* * *

The plan went into action that first day. I knocked gently on Karkat's door again, hearing it echo inside again on the other side of the door. Any other person would have assumed he would be asleep, or simply not home right now, but of course I knew different, because Karkat trusted me enough to tell me he'd be alright. I only knocked the two times, lightly. I heard no movement, so I simply spoke through the door gently. "Hey, Karkat. It's Dave."

Much to my surprise, by straining my ears I did hear movement inside, and just as before, I could hear him approach the door. I stepped back so he could get a look of me through the peephole, but he didn't bother unlocking the door, nor did I hear him move afterwards. I laid my ear against the door again, relaxing against it as I tried to hear anything from him, closing my eyes. "Karkitten, I know you're not feeling well, so I made you dinner. You going to let me in?"

I heard him shift inside, but nothing aside from that. I simply smiled. "Aren't you hungry?" Again, no response. I sighed and leaned back a bit. "I could just take this awesome soup that Jade taught me how to make and take it home. We made fresh rolls too. Argh. Such a waste to give it to John who gets to revel in Jade's cooking all of the time, only now it has the strider touch." Remembering what Jade had said before, I added: "Nothing spicy, I promise."

Still nothing. Stubborn little fuck.

I felt my shoulders sag again, but ironically I had expected to get no answer this time. "Alright then. I'll just leave this by your door and you can come and get it when you want to." I said with a shrug, putting down the bag next to the door. I stood up straight and looked at the peephole, offering it a small smile as I waved. "Take care, man." I said as I walked towards the elevators. However, I hit the button to call up the elevator, but didn't get in. I hid around the corner and waited patiently. I was sure security cameras might pick up on me and think I'm some sort of stalker or bandit, but I was sure I could smooth talk my way out of any odd situations that might present.

I watched his door for probably close to ten minutes when the satisfying sound of a lock turning caught my attention. I waited as I peered hid around the corner, and looked in the mirror at the end of the hallway to see what was going on. The door slowly opened and a head popped out, hair much messier than normal and gazing around carefully, almost shyly to make sure no one was watching.

He didn't look good at all. Far paler than usual, eyes bloodshot, he looked a wreck. I bit the bottom of my lip as I watched him.

He eventually knelt down and opened the shopping bag I had left for him, looking mildly surprised that I brought him a whole arsenal of stuff. A container with enough soup to last him 2-3 meals, 3 fresh rolls, a thermos of hot tea and an apple. He stared at it for a long moment before glancing around again, scooping it up and rubbing at his face. He frowned a long moment at the floor, but as he turned away back into his room, I thought I caught a glimpse of a smile.

Even as the door closed and I heard the lock snap shut again, I couldn't help but feel victory. It worked.

And I repeated the same thing Thursday. Showing up to find the dirty dished outside in the bag to knock and try and coax him to open the door, but he would pretend to not be there. I replaced the bag with dirty dishes with a new one with a new soup, and different assortment of goodies inside only to call up the elevator and hide around the corner. He came quicker on Thursday, and still seemed a bit surprised to see I'd show up yet again with something for him, but he simply ruffled his messy hair and grunted in frustration before scooping up the goodies and stumbling back into his dorm, lock sounding and all.

Friday, same thing. Dirty dishes in a bag, knock to get no reply, switch the bags, hide, and once more he hurried out quicker, the surprise kind of leaving his eyes, but replaced with something of a calm. He took the time on Friday to actually open the container of soup in the hallway and smell it. He looked pleasantly relaxed at the smell of it and retreated back into his hidey hole.

And Saturday was a whole different ball game.

Remember how I had said I may have been picking up a thing or two from John? Yeah. I picked up a thing or two from John, but I was going to do this Strider style.

I approached the dorm the same as I had, hearing Karkat's footsteps a little easier this time as he was being less and less careful with his camouflage. I grinned but otherwise did my best to not show him that I knew he was there, even though he knew I knew he was there. Again, I spoke carefully through the door. "Karkles, you there? I brought dinner again tonight." I said, waiting for an answer. As always, greeted with the silent treatment.

"So cold." I muttered softly, dropping a bag beside the door and scooping up the dishes, surprisingly clean. Looked like he decided to clean them before giving them back this time. With a sigh I stood up and shrugged my shoulders. "Call me I guess?" I said, making to walk away. However, this time I simply leaned against the wall beside his room, far enough away that unless he looked my way, he wouldn't notice me. I turned my head to the right and counted in my head.

The victorious sound of the lock coming undone happened only 1 minute of me 'leaving, and Karkat so anxious to get to the soup didn't even bother to check the hallways to see if I was gone. He immediately knelt down to the bag, snatching up the container and opening it-

Only to be startle and fall on his behind with a yelp as a few of John's lame spring loaded snakes popped out and smacked him in his pale face. With a smirk, I flashstepped around the corner of the door, firmly placing my door against the door and half inviting myself into his dorm. However I didn't fully enter as Karkat looked up at me, first looking dazed, then his usual pissed off self. "S-Strider! What the fuck are you-"

I cut him off as I held up another bag with the real meal in it cocking an eyebrow at him. "I've got enough for two. Also your homework you've been missing. Mind if I join you?"

His cheeks puffed out in frustration, but sighed, standing up and relaxing his shoulders. He was being surprisingly obedient compared to his usual self. He seemed more relaxed, but still looked a bit of a mess. "You're so God damn frustrating." He grumbled, frowning at me.

"Thank you. Anything to make you feel better."

He just stared at me funny for a second before reaching up and grabbing me by the-_ow mother fuck_-ear! He drug me inside and let go of it, kind of pushing me into his living area as I rubbed the sensitive flesh along side of my face, hearing his door shut and the lock latch.

I never did get a chance to really take in the atmosphere for his dorm last I was here. The walls were grey with matching dull carpet, mostly black furniture and oh my God, it was actually fairly big! He had a huge living area with an entertainment system, black leather couch and reclining chair, a whole self of movies and another of books, a small kitchen area off to the left with a table set for two, and his bedroom as well as a closet off to the right far wall. I couldn't see the bathroom, so I could only assume it was attached to his bedroom.

I gave a low whistle and pulled my shades off from my eyes, looking carefully at the dark haired boy. "How much does this cost a month?"

"A lot. I got it covered though." He grumbled, snatching the bag away from me and inspecting the contents.

"Sheesh. You're welcome."

"You invited yourself in, fuckface. I have every right to be an asshole to you."

"Does that mean you're feeling better then?"

"Augh, you are fucking frustrating." He grumbled, shuffling towards the kitchen.

"Seriously dude. You've been gone all week and no one knows what the fuck happened to you." I kicked off my sneakers and followed him to the kitchen, rolling up my sleeves to help him out.

Karkat simply glared at me, but not nearly as harsh as it normally was. "That's no one's fucking business." He hissed dangerously.

Touchy subject apparently. I frowned and reached out, grabbing his wrist much to his surprise. He sputtered his usual nonsense at me as I pulled him near, but completely shut the fuck up when I pressed my forehead to his, closing my eyes. I could feel his pulse quicken through his wrist, and couldn't help but let a small smile creep up on my face. My eyes slowly opened, just pulling back a little bit as I offered him a bit of a grin. "You don't have a fever. So either we were wrong about you being sick, or you're actually better now."

He sputtered a bit, leaning back from me and prying his eyes away from mine. Maybe I was a little too forceful with him. I carefully let go of him so he could choose whether or not to get away from me, which he took only a half a pace back and eyed me carefully. He seemed a bit surprised, but also reluctant to say anything. "N-no… I thought I told you I would be okay, you ass!"

I couldn't help but smile, especially when I saw his face redden even more before darting his eyes away and glaring at the wall like it had pissed him off. He was actually adorable. He crossed his arms tightly over his chest, jutting his bottom lip out ever so slightly. "What, you going to make fun of me for it? So I knew you were there and I responded. Big fuckin' whoop. I had to get you to get the fuck away from me. You're a fucking creepy stalker."

"Right." I said with a grin, holding up the bag again as his eyes shifted towards it. "A creepy fucking stalker who keeps feeding the stray kitten."

"_Striiiiiiiiideeeeeeeeeeerr_." He grumbled in warning.

"I kid." I shrugged. "Besides, I wasn't going to make fun of your for it."

"Pft. Yeah right."

"No really, I wasn't." I said, eyes turning serious. He still didn't believe me as he rolled his eyes.

"Same shit, different day. Your _irony_ gets old quick."

"I was fucking _worried_, bro."

He paused and looked me in the face. He looked like he was thinking very heavily on something, but took my words with a grain of salt, like he wasn't sure whether or not to believe me. I sighed, sagging my shoulders and looked up at the ceiling, as if asking some high and mighty force above me to please just make this a little fucking easier. But instead I decided to let my body do the speaking for me. I stepped forward again, watching him flinch back but very carefully put my arms around him. I held him gently, but close enough that he was pressed against me. He could shove me off if he wanted to, but I wasn't him to see just how fucking serious I was.

His shoulders went tense, and I felt him lift his arms a bit, but pause. He didn't really know what to do.

"I'm serious Karkat. You can ask any of your friends. I was freaking out when you didn't show up to class, I got in an argument with our professor over your absence and I panicked when I couldn't get an answer. John could tell you how restless I've been. Jade taught me how to fucking cook so I could make sure you were eating at least. And come on, can you really see me wearing an apron?"

"Not… not really." He muttered softly, I could feel his head shift a bit, but he made no move to get away from me, much to my own surprise. I felt myself hold him just a bit tighter.

"Yeah… I have to admit I didn't wear one, but none the less, I was worried, and hoped to God you were okay."

He was silent for a minute, but I could feel him shaking a little. Something was off, but I didn't really know what. "Why?"

"Hm?" I uttered, turning my head to look at the back of his head, now resting on my shoulder as I felt him grip my shirt.

"Why were **_you_**worried?"

"_Dude."_ I said quietly, gripping his shoulders. "Why wouldn't I? You're my friend." I paused at that thought for a moment, before I felt him shake more, gripping my shirt and giving me a hug back. Did I hit some sort of emotional nerve? I could barely feel the salt water seeping into my hoodie's shoulder, but right now I didn't care. "You know… if you consider me that after I've been such a worthless ass to you." I said, staring at the grey carpeted floor.

He didn't dare say anything, probably for fear that his voice would crack, but he nodded heavily into my shoulder.

And for the first time since I could remember, I held the guy who was crying into my shoulder, gently patting the back of his back and petting his hair, trying to calm him down as he clung to me for dear life.

And I became far too aware that this was a side of Karkat Vantas that no one else had likely ever seen before.


	13. Chapter 13: Never has it Dawned upon Me

_SOOOOOO I almost missed the weekly update with answering an Anonymous question on my tumblr (archanememory . tumblr . com) and realized late last night that chapter 13 was due today, and I had barely scratched the surface on it. _

_Cripes!_

_So I managed to get the ball rolling this evening and finally get down to writing, and my hands did a thing where my original plot line got tossed for certain things and things happened a bit unexpectedly even for me! Such a fun chapter to write, but we're finally seeing a few things that I've been hinting at, but where only at the tip of the iceberg!_

_Also, I have managed to make an account on archiveofourown, and will likely be posting the rated 18+ chapter, or at least that part only on there once I start posting the chapters there. Why? Well, I want to stick with fanfiction's rating guidelines, and they do not allow M+ material. I'd rather not be banned or have my stories removed, so I figured this would be better safe than sorry. When we get to that point though, I'll gladly guide you in the direction that you need to go. This way everyone is happy!_

_So again, for sneak peaks, art and just random shenanigans, add me on my tumblr. I'm also giving out my skype name now for anyone who might want to chit chat. Hee hee. PM me if you're interested!_

_As always, read, review and enjoy~!_

* * *

**Chapter 13: Never has it Dawned on Me…**

* * *

It took a while to calm him down, but eventually he did without telling me what the actual fuck was going on. He was stubborn like that. Always the way with Karkat Vantas. I knew it was going to happen this way, but it still didn't alleviate my worries.

I insisted he go lay down for a while, but he refused saying he was fine. I did make him sit his ass down at the kitchen table at least while I got my lame ass cooking skills going and started re-heating the soup that I made. The recipe was Jade's, but I still made this one by myself, dammit. Karkat just played with his salt and pepper shakers on the table as I reheated it and put together the other random items I'd brought. I glanced over my shoulder as I started putting the finger sandwiches together, raising an eyebrow curiously at him. "You never said whether or not you liked it."

"You haven't been around for me to tell you." He grumbled.

"You wouldn't let me in to find out." I smiled a bit.

"Pft." Was his simple retort.

I rolled my shoulders. "So?"

"So what?"

"Did you like it?"

He folded his arms in front of him and buried his mouth into it, glancing in the opposite direction. "Jade helped you make it. So of course it was good."

"First day she did. It was all me after that." I grinned smugly. He muttered again, but nothing coherent. But that was fine, because I could clearly see he was in better shape now than the first day I saw him hobble out of his room. Karkat was feeling better. Whether his absence was because of illness or not was a different story. He had yet to talk to me about what was actually the matter, but I had a feeling that he wasn't up to talking about anything that might have been the matter.

He was such a secluded individual.

With a sigh, I put a bowl of soup in front of him and watched as he forced himself to curl his nose, making like he was disgusted with the thought of eating something I made. I knew differently though, he enjoyed it. He already admitted it. He watched me carefully as I pulled the baguette out of the oven, warming it slightly for him to soften it up. I heard a grunt and glanced at him behind me, seeing his nose curled still. "You didn't make that. You bought it."

"Dude. Cut me some slack. I'm lucky enough I learned how to cook a bit in like a day. Can't start being a little old grandma baking fresh bread every day. I feel like a housewife enough by slaving over a stove for you." I joked, watching a bit of a grin play on his lips. He must have known it was true, cause God Dammit, I was lucky I was determined enough to even make the fucking soup and make sure it tasted alright before handing it out to him. Bread was just out of the fucking question. Jade was able to have the patience for it, but not this Dave Strider.

He didn't take any time in woofing it down. In fact I watched in awe and readied myself for in case he choked on it. At the rate he was eating, it would seem like it was all he was eating when I brought him anything. There were no dirty dishes in the sink, but his fridge had food in it, both cook-able and microwave-able. So either he was a starving mother fucker, or he just really liked it. Obviously option 2 was the better of the two. He glanced up at me once while I sat with the spoon of my own in my hand, casting a dumbfounded look over him. "What?" he grumbled.

"Hungry?" I asked blinking only once.

"Pft." He grumbled, taking another mouthful of soup, not bothering with any table manners of any sort. "If your brother is the king of Irony-" he paused to take a mouthful of warm baguette, pushing it to his left cheek to chew. "-Then you're the king of obviousness."

"Lame." I grumbled, hooding my eyes a bit before picking the bowl up and knocking back what was left of the broth. I had to admit it to myself, I didn't do half bad on my own. It wasn't Jade Harley's cooking, but it was mine, and it wasn't too damn shabby. Karkat did the same, but a little more sloppy, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand.

I couldn't help but narrow my eyes as I looked at his state. His hair was more of a mess than usual, he looked like he'd been staying in his pajamas for days, just like he'd down nothing but toss and turn in bed all day. Things were starting to look like maybe he was sick again. I couldn't help but left a bit of a grin creep up on my face, resting my elbows on the table and my chin in my palms. Karkat stared at me as he put his bowl down, face paling a bit. Apparently he didn't like the look on my face. "Strider, what in the ever-loving fuck are you looking at like that?"

"You dude. You look like hell."

"Gee. Thanks you shit sponge." He glowered, glaring at the nearest wall.

"Oh ho, you do have other nicknames for people." I smirked, standing up and making my way over to his side of the table. He cringed, half sitting up out of his chair but realized all too late I had him cornered. He was awfully jumpy, wasn't he? I couldn't help but smirk even wider as I reached out and grabbed him, pulling him to his feet and stepping backwards, tugging him along with me. "Either way, we're going to have to do something about your current state, Karkitten."

"Wh-what!?" he stammered, unable to pry his flustered, possibly even frightened gaze away from me. His cheeks were flushed now as well. I couldn't help but bite my bottom lip, images creeping up in my mind as I saw a different sort of expression on his face, like in the shower. I had to stop my thought process there however, as I had been doing so fucking good. Following down that path was only going to lead to my blood flowing in the opposite direction and Karkat discovering a painful erection.

I'm a fucking poet.

Shoving the previous images out of my mind for the time being, I continued to back pedal and drag him with me. It was kind of funny how little of a fight he gave me. I knew he could struggle all to hell, but he was hardly kicking up a storm compared to his usual antics. He must have been ill. I managed to find myself back stepping into the bathroom. He struggled a bit at that point, but when I stopped moving, he stopped struggling a bit, his face turning even more crimson.

"Strider, **_what in the actual fuck are you doing_**?" He tried to hiss, but it came out more like a whimper.

It was dawning over me the more I was looking at that fucking face he was making at me, some urges that I'd been fighting deep down, things that you've been screaming probably somewhere between chapter 2 and 4, things that I've been fighting the entire time. I could believe how overwhelming these urges were to the point where I just wanted to say fuck it and get it all out of my system, but the other part of me felt uneasy, kind of embarrassed about what I was craving. It was all that face, looking frightened and helpless.

It was almost as if that look awakened some sort of _hungry beast_ in me.

I pulled him the rest of the way in the bathroom, feeling his feet fumble as I pulled him into my chest tight enough that I could close the door behind him, then step forward and press him against it. Again he tried to glare at me, but that red face was overpowering any kind of intimidating look he was trying to muster.

"Fucking answer me Strider. You're acting weird."

"Well, to be fair so have you." I mumbled, seeing his shoulder stiffen lightly and I leaned over him, pressing my forehead to his again like I had earlier, but this time staring him straight in the eyes. "You're being real secretive, and I'm not one to pry into someone's fucking business, but you're definitely not acting like the Karkat I know."

The redness died down a bit, and the harsh look he was giving me looked a bit more intense than before, but still not enough to make me back down. Honestly, I don't think I would have ever backed down again with the way I was feeling. "Maybe you don't know the first thing about me." He hissed.

His furious gaze softened however, probably in reaction to the face I made. I know I felt it twist up in some sort of way, how could I help it? He kind of hit home there. "You're right." I said, glancing at the tiled floor, palms balling into loose fists on either side of him. "And that honestly bugs the ever living shit out of me."

"Come again?" He blinked, not seeming to mind the sudden closeness, but that shade of pink still lingered on his pale cheeks.

I met his eyes in a bit of a hurt stare, not being able to help myself getting lost in his amber and red flecked eyes. They were different, far more different than mine that were stained with blood. "You know, I didn't think you'd mean that much to me." I started, watching as he held his breath for a moment, searching my eyes for some sort of truth. "I honestly just loved the bug the living hell out of you at first. You were loud, obnoxious, always seeming to either have your head held high with this hard 'I don't give a shit attitude'. This is something I don't often admit, but I honestly think that I might have been wrong. You're right, and I know jack shit about you."

"Jade made me realize that…" I kept staring down, but I was pretty sure he kept staring at me, waiting for me to say something, or maybe just letting things sink in. I couldn't help but muster up a bit of a frown as he took a breath and started to say something, but I cut him off, meeting his eyes once more. "But honestly Karkat, can you really say that you truly know me?"

It took a long moment of us simply staring at each other before he swallowed. I noticed him balling his hands into fists, not because he was going to get violent. Probably just cause I put him on the spot. "I know enough about you to know you drive me crazy."

"But is that really who I am? What we're showing each other, is it really what we fucking are? Or are we still strangers to each other?"

"You're acting kind of weird." He said, averting his gaze. "You really like to invade my personal space too. That pisses me off."

"_Because you keep pushing me away."_ I hissed, seeing him jolt a bit. I calmed myself quickly, looking down, but I was starting to feel frustrated. "Every time I feel like I take a step forward, you push me three steps back. It's getting frustrating that I just don't know what the fuck to do." I grumbled, glaring at the floor like it was its fault. At this moment it could after all. Maybe I'd slip on it and he'd be out of my reach again. No, _fuck you_ floor. You will **_not_** make me fucking slip.

Karkat swallowed after a long moment of silence, turning his gaze away from me. He didn't really look as helpless as before, but maybe more willing to listen. "I'm going to fucking regret asking." He muttered softly, and from my downward gaze I could see his hands ball up even tighter. Was he nervous about something? I looked up at him, pulling my head back a bit to get a better look at him.

"What is it you want from me, Dave?"

Well, that was an interesting question. What did I want? Understanding? Trust? Friendship? Brotherhood? What exactly was it that I was seeking from him that I wasn't obsessively chasing after anyone else?

I couldn't help but let a small smile run across my lips, because deep down, no matter how much I had been fighting it, I knew what it was I wanted. "What do I want..." I said quietly, leaning forward ever so slightly and tilting my head just a bit. I saw Karkat's eyes go wide and his body tense, then suddenly snap them shut. I moved ever so closer to him, to the point where I could almost feel his lips against mine, his breath hard and warm on my face.

_I couldn't do it though. _

Instead, I simply grinned and brushed past his face, putting my mouth close to his ear. I saw him tense even more as he felt my breath, making me realize he had very sensitive ears. Just by his reaction, I would say that was probably one of his sweet spots. But I wasn't moving this close to unnerve him. Maybe play around with him a little, but nothing serious. I chuckled a bit by his ear. "I want you to take a fucking bath."

He cringed as I pulled back, looking at me with a dumbfounded expression. I knew he was expecting something else. Whether or not he was willing was a different story. He clearly wasn't himself right now… at least the _'himself' _that I knew. But that was just the mystery, wasn't it? Did either of us really know what either one's true selves were? "You don't look like you've hit the shower for a few days."

He gave me his usually pissy flustered look, leaning forward and trying to back me away from him. "For your fucking information, I've been down for the count the past few days." He hissed. Still not giving me much information.

I shrugged and backed up, walking over to the tub/shower and putting the plug in, turning on the water to a decently hot setting, but nothing scalding and glanced back at him, offering him a bit of a smile. "I know. But you're up and at it now, and a hot bath could really help you sweat out whatever is in your system, relax you, then clean off with a shower after." I shrugged again, standing up straight and shoving my hands in my pockets.

Karkat shimmied away from the door, looking to the tub then back to me, casting a suspicious glare in my direction. "And you?" he asked skeptically.

I simply shrugged, answering probably far too quickly for my own good. "Take care of you."

"_**What!?**_" he hitched, making me cringe a bit. Didn't help that the bathroom echoed something awful. I rubbed at my ears, staring at him in question on why he needed to yell so loud, but he just stared. "I fucking told you already, I was worried about you. Still am. So you relax a bit, and I'll take care of other things." Once more, he seemed to relax a little, but watched me like a hawk. I idly wondered what his problem was, but decided before things got awkward, I should make my leave of the bathroom. I gave him a bit of a nod before heading over to the door , twisting the knob and escaping the environment before it go hot.

Once the door was shut though, my poker face faltered and I found myself staring at the grey carpeted floor. I knew what I wanted. Jade was the one who pushed me in this direction, while Dirk was trying to push me away from it. That was weird, all things considering. Still, I knew deep down that even though I'd been straight all my fucking life, I wanted at that particular moment was to hug Karkat Vantas. I wanted to gently kiss him and tell him it would be alright.

I didn't know the rhyme or reasoning behind it, but I wanted _him_.

I felt my shoulders sag and I sighed, closing my eyes and walking away from the bathroom to the kitchen to wash up the dishes we just dirtied.

_"What a mess." _I said silently to myself… and I didn't mean the apartment.

_I meant my head._

* * *

I had taken Karkat's laundry down to the laundry room, and managed to coax a few girls down there to let me use the machines first. They had said normally it was one washer and 1 dryer per person, but after explaining the circumstances of my sick friend they let me use up all of the free ones. While his sheets and clothes washed, I managed to do up his dishes and get Lysol over practically everything, paranoid that if Karkat was in fact ill, the germs would be floating around and just making a constant cycle of sick.

I felt like a little housewife, and it was awkward as hell.

Just as I was heading down to throw the clothes in the dryer, I heard the shower turn on in the bathroom. Karkat probably had enough of lounging around in the bathtub, and was decided to just shower off now. He'd probably sweated some of it out of his system, so that was a plus to the hot bath. I simply smiled and headed down to the laundry room, where the girls were more than happy to take over the washers as I moved everything to the dryers. I thanked then again for their patience and understanding of the situation. See? I could be a gentleman when I wanted to.

I quickly made my way back up to the dorm and listened. The shower was still going. Alright. Next on the agenda, find spare sheets if he had any. I grumbled as I looked through the closet in the open area, but found nothing, and found myself padding off towards his bedroom. It was probably a bad idea to venture anywhere near the area that could be so sensitive to him, but it was all for a good reason.

Carefully opening the closet door to make sure nothing would jump out at me, I slid it all of the way open once I realized he kept it tidy and started looking on his top shelf. After tilting a few boxes over, I finally found a fresh set of sheets. Once the dryers were done, I'd get the blankets back on and that would be that.

"Strider."

I jolted as I heard a voice coming from the bathroom, door opened up a bit. I looked back out to the living area of his dorm, where inevitably he was just around the corner and called back. "Yeah?"

He hesitated a moment before I saw him peek around the corner, making me swallow a lump in my throat. His skin had reddened from the heat of the shower and bath, looking flushed and actually a bit nervous. I would only see his fan and shoulders though, he was careful not to let anything else be seen. Thank fuck. I might have issues controlling myself if I got to see another shower soaked naked Karkat, looking at me with that face.

"Can you grab me a set of clothes? You kinda didn't let me get any, you asshole."

… _right._

I did the same thing to John when I forced him to shower too. I couldn't help but find my face in my palm, dropping the clean sheets on the bed and walking over to his dresser. I paused as I reached towards the handle of the top drawer, then glanced back at him. "Okay. Any naughty drawers I should know about and avoid? Or-"

"Oh for fuck sake." He grumbled, finding a hand running through his wet hair in frustration. "Top is boxers and socks, one below it is shirts, and the one below that is jeans."

"And the bottom?"

"Pajama pants." He shrugged.

No naughty drawer there then. Okay, I was in the safe to not be getting my nose into his possibly kinky business. I quickly opened up the Pajama pants drawer, hearing a bit of a protest from the party behind me. I rolled my shoulders and looked back at him, sighing. "What the fuck are you doing? Jeans, man."

"Dude, PJ's are more comfortable." I grumbled, watching him narrow his eyes at me. "You'll be more comfortable this way, so chillax."

"Fine, whatever. Just hurry up. I'm starting to get cold."

"Can't let that happen." I said, pulling out the bottom drawer and finding a black pair of drawstring pants, the sweater drawer to get a think striped black and grey zip up hoodie, and some warm socks and plain black boxers for him. Wow. I knew he wore mostly grey-scaled items, but I didn't really see much color in his drawers at all. It was a bit depressing. I walked over and carefully handed him his clothes around the corner, raising an eyebrow at him. "All black white and grey?" I asked cautiously.

He shrugged, snatching his clothes. "My choice, isn't it?" He was about to turn away when I snatched his hoodie back, making him glare at me in frustration. "What the fuck is your problem?" he snapped.

He shut right up however when I hung the hoodie over the door knob to his room and pulled my own over my head. It was my red and white broken record hoodie that I treasured, but it was warmer than what I got him, plus… he needed a bit of color. "Here." I said as I straightened out my t-shirt underneath, tossing him my hoodie in his direction. It was probably a bit too big for him, but that would be fine. He caught it and looked at me dumbfounded as I snatched his zip up hoodie and threw it over my shoulders to keep me warm. It was smaller than my usual ones, and the sleeves didn't quite cover my wrists, but it was fine. "To brighten you up a little bit." I said with a grin, but pointed at his face. "Not that you're not already lit up like a Christmas tree."

"Then stop fucking stripping in my bedroom, you dumbass." He yowled before turning the corner and slamming the door so hard I thought it would come off of its hinges. I couldn't help but laugh a little, turning my attention back to the sheets on the bed, making it carefully.

As I was tucking in the sheets on the corners, I noticed something sitting on his nightstand next to his bed. I couldn't help but look to it, since it had much more color than anything else in the dorm, feeling a bit uneasy when I saw it was a bouquet of flowers. I wasn't sure if it was fear I felt, or jealousy. Either way, it made my stomach turn at the sight of them. I shimmied over for a closer inspection of the neatly wrapped up pile of baby's breath, daisies and yellow roses, reaching for the card that was stuck in them, only to stop when I read the name that was on it.

_Sollux Captor._

I cringed and pulled my hand away, concentrating on getting the pillow cases on the pillows. I couldn't help but fidget though. They were fairly fresh, probably only been around a few days… was Sollux here? Did Karkat let him in? Those thoughts gripped at my brain and heart tighter than anything.

I couldn't help but remember how careful and close he seemed to Karkat at Vriska's house on that first weekend. I thought that asshole had a girlfriend? Wasn't he and Fef- whatever her name was an item? Why was he insisting on sending Karkat flowers and being all buddy buddy with him? In fact, Sollux seemed to have a complete hate on for me back then too. I couldn't help but wonder what crawled up his ass and died.

I ground my teeth and snatched up the bouquet, unable to take the pressure of worrying anymore and snagged the cards from the flowers, flipping it over to read it.

_Karkat,_

_Sorry to hear about your dad. You know how to reach me if you want to._

**_Deepest Sympathy,_**

_Sollux Captor._

I felt my eyes go wide at the card, tensing up for a moment before the unfortunate realization of everything came crashing down on me. I lowered the flowers and stared at the blinds covering the window as the setting sun tried to peek through and glare at me with my unshaded eyes.

He was gone for at least a week and written off due to **_bereavement_**, not cause he was sick.

_"Fuck."_


	14. Chapter 14: What it Means to be

_Okay… so apparently there was a lot of feelings felt in the last chapter. Goodness guys! Now I'm torn… there's still so much yet to come, and if you are affected by Kankri being offed before we met him, then I don't know how I can continue… maybe I should stop-_

_Just kidding, just kidding. Of course I'm going to see this thing through. But I will give you a fair warning to start painting those feel sacks in steel, I can't be responsible for emotional breakdowns! *sobs nervously*_

_On top of this, I do have to apologize for the chapter being late. Unfortunately I was going to work on it Thursday night and finish it off on Friday when I got home from work, but I HUGE wrench got thrown into that plan. Essentially I worked a 16 hour shift overnight at work and had to learn a completely new shift due to someone deciding not to bother showing up. I had a long Friday repairing my car and seeing my mother, and by that point I was loopy from being up 36 hours to crash for a long 12. This one isn't as astounding as other chapters, sadly. Hopefully the next one will make up for how terrible this one is. HNG._

* * *

**Chapter 14: What it Means to be…**

* * *

Fuck me sideways, backwards and inside out. This was definitely not what I was expecting to find. Upon seeing the bouquet, I had expected it would be some sort of flirty present from Sollux to make my blood boil. But now that I was seeing _'sorry about your dad' _and knowing damn well what this all meant now, the gears in my brain were turning and with it spilling their greasy goodness of guilt that settled deep within the pit of my stomach.

**Karkat's** Dad died.

Karkat's **Dad** died.

Karkat's Dad **_died_**…

I felt myself staring at the bouquet probably much longer than I should have, wanting nothing more than to bolt to that bathroom door and sweet up the guy in a hug and tell him it would be okay. Tell him I was so fucking sorry for not knowing… fix things if I could.

Fuck. I couldn't fix this. I knew that. You can't simply fix a person after someone so close to them passes away. If it were an illness that kept him away from class, I could nurse him back to health, but I couldn't bring his dad back from the dead. I didn't recall ever losing someone so important in my life before, but trying to imagine losing Rose or Dirk… it was way too much. Dirk practically raised us, so you might as well say he was our dad. Our real parents were long gone. Rose and I couldn't even remember them. Saying that we lost them was nothing cause we didn't really ever get a chance to know them.

For Karkat to lose his father though, especially at his age where he'd had 19 years to live with him and get to know him, I couldn't imagine the struggle he'd be dealing with right now.

No, that wasn't completely true. I had seen what he was going through. That first night that I dropped off the soup, I saw his reddened face, disheveled hair, the tears in his eyes. And knowing just how stubborn he could be, I knew that Karkat was doing his best to deal with this loss himself. After all, Jade and John didn't know. As far as I knew, Terezi didn't know either. The teacher apparently did, but I would imagine Karkat probably e-mailed them to explain his absence so he didn't get kicked out of school. That made sense.

I couldn't help but run my fingers through my hair awkwardly, but froze immediately when I heard the bathroom door open.

_Shit. _

I was quick to set the bouquet down again, spin on my heel and pay attention to the fucking pillow cases. Karkat decided he wouldn't tell us about it… but apparently Sollux knew, much to my internal dismay now that I was realizing how much I fucking cared about the brat. Did Karkat tell him? Or did he find out some other way? Argh. It was so frustrating. Either way, I had to not think about that now… cause I needed to be able to support him as much as I could, without him thinking I was nosing into his business.

He turned the corner from the corner of my eyes and he looked in at me. He seemed to stay completely still for a second, so I glanced over toward him and looked him over.

I was right… color did look good on him. The hoodie was a size too big for him, but that was okay. He glanced around a little bit, then looked right at me, jutting his bottom lip out a little and crossing his arms. "Are you seriously making my bed?" he grumbled.

"Yup. Blankets and your clothes are in the dryer." I said, stuffing the last pillow into the pillow case and tossing it towards the headboard.

Kartkat seemed to be studying me carefully for a moment before grumbling and stalking forward, reaching out past the sleeve too long for him and grabbing my wrist, pulling me out of his room. I stumbled behind him, not daring to look back at the daisies and roses behind me in fear that he would know I knew. Argh, this was still frustrating as hell. How could I relay the message that I wanted to help him and comfort him when I couldn't exactly say that I knew why he was absent without him throwing me out and ignoring me again?

He loved to do that, just push me the fuck away.

He let go of me only to spin me around and push me onto his leather sofa. I blinked as I watched him stalk over to the kitchen, leaning forward in piqued curiosity. Why was he dragging me out of his room and into his living room? I wanted to follow, but I had the feeling he'd just chase me out again and once more ram me into the couch. Wonderful as that might have been in any other situation. Anyhow, I patiently waited as he walked out, holding the bag I brought earlier. I couldn't help but smile as I sat up straight, adjusting the hoodie I traded Karkat. "Homework time then?"

"Yeah." He grumbled, looking at all the pages and notes I had for him with slumped shoulders. "Homework time."

* * *

And thus we pulled up the coffee table and found our faces deep in his text books, and me explaining whatever I could about the notes I had jotted down. It didn't escape Karkat's notice that my notes for Monday and Tuesday were fucked, but I simply shrugged whenever he mentioned it. He seemed to glower at me a little when I reminded him of how I was worried about him during his sudden absence, but said nothing more. He simply groaned and mumbled something about me being stupid and did some cross referencing to figure out what the fuck we both missed. Only once did we stop to go get his dried clothes and sheets form the laundry room and apologize to fuck about forgetting about them. Thankfully the girls were flirty enough that they didn't care that much.

Three grueling hours later Karkat finally got pissed off enough that he grabbed the text books and literally threw them across the room. I couldn't help but blink, clicking the mechanical pencil in my hand to get more lead. "Dude. I know they're headache inducing, but I think that was uncalled for." I joked.

"Shut up, Strider." He grumbled, crossing his arms tight across his chest. I couldn't help but admire how adorable he looked in my hoodie a size too big for him. The pout on his face just made it all the better. "It can wait… it's only Saturday."

"Oh?" I said, clicking the pencil again, to which he grimaced and snatched said pencil from my hand, chucking it at the opposite wall which it bounced off of and fell on the floor, snapping the lead. "Again. Uncalled for."

"Again, shut the fuck up."

I smirked and leaned closer to him. "So, if you don't want to do your homework you've missed, what do you propose we do now to pass the time?"

He turned to me with wide yes, like a deer caught in the headlights. His jaw was slightly open as if he couldn't quite comprehend exactly what I just spewed out of my mouth. "Did I say you were welcome to stay longer?"

"Are you kicking me out?" I inquired, tilting my head a little.

He fidgeted on the spot and then groaned, pressing his face firmly into the palms of his hands. "I suppose not… not yet."

Maybe he was warming up to me. That was kind of nice to think about… too bad there were more important things at the front of my mind. Thinking about my feelings right now was terribly insignificant compared to the discovery I made in his bedroom. Bereavement… not exactly anything remotely close to what I had been expecting and prepared for. For now, I'd have to just let it pass and simply play it by ear. "_So_, I repeat myself like a broken record." I said, pointing to the logo on my shirt, which Karkat defiantly knocked my hand away from. "What do we do now?"

He groaned, knocking my hand away again and then ran his fingers through his auburn hair. His eyes glanced up across the coffee table and suddenly bolted up faster than I ever seen him react. He practically skipped around said coffee table and flicked on the TV, swinging open one of the doors to the entertainment system and _holy shit that was a lot of movies_. I gave a low whistle at the sight, leaning sideways to look around him. "That's more movies than Egbert has."

He snapped his head around to give me a soft glare, much more timid than his usual confrontations. "Mine are also a shit ton better than any of Egbert's movies."

"_Riiiiiight_. Like Titanic."

"Again, I slowly crank up my middle-most digit in your general direction and salute you with a big '_fuck you'_."

"Getting creative anyways." I said with a shrug as he flipped me off just as he promised, mouthing the words of endearment.

Karkat made quick work, running his fingers down the spines of his dvd cases until he stopped and started to grab one. He paused after a moment and glanced over his shoulder at me, as if asking permission. What an odd reaction for him. "You probably don't want to see any sappy romance shit, huh?"

"You enjoy sappy romance shit though, don't you?" I asked, shoving my hands in his hoodies pockets. He seemed to think about it long and hard for a minute before turning back to the case and removing his fingers from the case he was originally going to take, then quickly swiping up a thicker one that seemed to be blue-ish black. I couldn't help but raise an eyebrow and try and look past him to see what it was he pulled out.

I had to cringe a little at seeing it was Avatar, and not the last airbender.

Interspecies relationships and explosions and my god. I could see this was probably the only movie John and Karkat ever bonded over. I felt my shoulders sag slightly at the thought of sitting through 2 hours of it, but decided it was better than Titanic by a long shot and would deal with it.

He quickly stood up and trotted off to his room, returning only after grabbing a throw blanket and tossing it at me on the couch. I caught it and stared first at it in confusion, then him as he approached me and plunked down on the couch, leaning back against it. He was quick to snatch the blanket and flip it open, draping it over my lap, then over his legs that he pulled up on the couch. The fuck?

He must have read my mind cause it looked at me funny, jutting his bottom lip out in something of a pout, but looked just as sour as his normal portrayed personality. "It's cozy. Don't you have certain habits or things you like when you watch movies?"

"I generally don't watch movies." I shrugged, his jaw dropping in slight surprise. "But when I do I just kind sit there." I couldn't help but offer a bit of an awkward smirk at him however, it was kind of golden. "Don't get me wrong, it's comfortable. I just didn't think after the last time you'd be so eager to get under a blanket with me again."

His face fumed brightly, but took only a split second to reach up and smack me behind my head. I chuckled softly at his reaction. I totally deserved that one, but I had no fucking regrets. "You are a moron."

"Anything to please." I laughed, earning yet another smack.

"Stop that." He hissed, pointing at me as if I were a dog he was training. How adorable.

"Gunna play the movie or what?" I chuckled.

He switched from his index finger to his middle finger, kindly flipping me off in retaliation to my sarcasm and apparent eagerness to get this shit started. I wasn't really looking forward to the movie honestly, I'd seen it once before in theater when it was all the rage, but I didn't exactly enjoy it. It wasn't my cup of tea. Sadly, Jake had wanted to badly to see it and my brother found a million and one excuses not to go, so Jake begged me to go instead. Dirk's boyfriend seemed to do this with every movie however,,, he was a fanatic. Good ones, bad ones, terrible ones… he was a confusing individual.

Karkat glowered at me for a brief moment before flicking on the deleted scenes and scoffing, curling back into the seat of the sofa. "Fine. I hope the alien sex gets you all hot and uncomfortably bothered then, you prick."

_Augh_.

Watching the movie again was honestly nothing, but Karkat was fidgety as fuck. He seemed to grow uncomfortable with his sitting posture every ten minutes or so. I even commented once on it, but he shoved my face and shooshed me for interrupting the movie. He seemed hell-bent on watching every single glamorous detail that I didn't seem to care about. Magical forests and monsters with sharp fangs, mind/body transfers and corporate agendas. Nearly naked cat smurf people and how their native ways were odd to say the least, the whole binding through their hair with tentacles. Just how did every creature on that planet have those tentacle connection thingies for them to be tamed? It was such bullshit, but Karkat seemed to enjoy every little detail.

Then of course, the whole cross species relationship. Those seemed to be the parts that Karkat was interested in the most, eyes glued to the screen and leaning forward slightly. Was he a romanticist? Then again, I was sure he was a Cancer, and they were all about relationships and love and all that bullshit. They were also very sensitive and usually bubbling with emotion, so the daily horoscopes say on facebook.

At some point, Karkat found himself horizontal, laying his head on my lap. I couldn't help but mutter some nonsense to him about whether he was attempting to get me hot and bothered before the sex even showed up, but he again shooshed me and refused to let me interrupt his precious movie.

As the major downfall of the main character finally poked it's ugly little head around, I suddenly felt a sharp pain in my chest, watching as Natiri's father handed her his bow as he died. Karkat was very still as the scene played out, hardly even moving. Of course, I couldn't see his face since he was still lying in my lap, but I definitely felt something shift in the air. I couldn't help but nibble on my bottom lip as I tried to think of what to do. So I did the only thing I could do. I reached my hand out and placed it on his head, gently petting his hair. I felt him stiffen, then relax a little, giving a soft sigh.

I continued petting him just like he was the kitten he was acting to be, not even paying attention to the war playing out on the screen, but instead to the guy pressing his cheeks against my thigh.

He spoke after a moment, causing me to freeze completely.

"I didn't really expect it to happen that way." He said quietly, but I felt fingers curl tightly around the blanket we shared. "You know… it could have happened further down the road… not right after so many changes just suddenly popped up. Movies know how to pull the heartstrings for the most tragic deaths, making the audience think and feel what the characters are going through… that's what makes a good movie."

"Karkat…" all I could say was his name. Was he actually talking about the movie? Or…?

"I know you saw them, Dave." He said my name, but this time there was no joy in the fact that he was saying it. "The flowers in my room from Sollux. Had I known you were going to go snooping around my room, I would have just tossed the fucking things out." He grumbled, turning his head deeper into my lap.

His voice still sounded fine, but I could feel how tense he was. So, he knew that I knew after all. "Sorry. They were kind of hard to miss against the monochrome of everything else you own." I said with only a hint of sarcasm, but it was the truth.

"Forget it. I was fucking careless anyways." He grumbled. I couldn't help but feel tense myself all of a sudden. I didn't really like that answer at all. He was… careless. He didn't want us to know. Did he ever intend on telling us what happened? Fuck, how insensitive would I be if I asked him what he and his dad did over Christmas or something only to have him have some sort of a breakdown? I ground my teeth together as I tried to calm myself, but I was couldn't help it… I was suddenly really mad.

"I told you already. I'll be fine. So stop tiptoeing around me and hurry the fuck up and go back to being the normal asshole you are." He muttered, but somehow I felt like he didn't really mean that. How could he? He was still lying against me. If he truly didn't want my comfort, he would have kicked me out ages ago.

"You know? For someone going through mourning, you can be an insensitive little prick." I managed to hiss. He stiffened suddenly, then shot up, glaring at me. I could see the tears hanging onto the corner of his eyes as he glared as harsh as he could muster without crying.

"Insensitive!?" he yowled, facing me full on. I didn't move, I just continued to frown at him. "My father fucking kicks the Goddamn figurative bucket and I tell you to not give a flying fuck about it and you have the fucking **NERVE** to call **ME ****_INSENSITIVE_**!?"

"**YES**," I hissed, pushing my face towards his as he backed away, still glaring at me harshly, but also looking confused… hurt even. I hated that look so fucking much. It made my stomach knot, but I had to fucking get through to him. I was pissed for fucks sake. "You lock yourself up in your dorm and hope to fuck we assume you're sick, which hey! We all fall for it! Look at us, such shitty friends that you can't even be bothered to explain the situation on why you're actually hurting and hole yourself up away from us. Do you really fucking hate us that much that you can't fucking trust us!?"

He winced, staring at me hard. I made sure the little bastard stared me in the eyes so he would get my message, but eventually he lowered his gaze, the sour look returning slightly as he curled his nose. "I didn't want you idiots to worry. I just wanted to pretend that everything was normal."

"_Bull-fucking-shit_ _Karkat."_ I hissed, watching him wince once more. I reached out and grabbed his arms, pulling him up more to make sure he looked back at me. "We might think everything is normal, but you wouldn't. That's the fucking point! I'm mad! You didn't want us to know!? Why the fuck wouldn't you not want us to know? Didn't you think that Terezi, John and Jade would at least find out when they went home for thanksgiving? I have no at home connections that would tell me about this, but they do!" and here I was, ironically the first to know out of all of us, because I was persistant fucking bastard.

"I already said I didn't want you dumb-shits to worry and fret over me! I can fucking handle it!"

"Again, I'm calling bullshit. Argh." I let go of one of his arms to put my palm over half of my face as a headache crept up… Avatar war noises drowned in the background as I tried my damnedest to collect my thoughts. "Karkat, I want to worry about you." I finally said, feeling a bit frustrated with myself. I felt him tense up against as I scrambled for the correct words to say. Fuck, this was hard. "Sollux apparently knew about it, and yet you can't even trust your friends from back home with such information. Why shouldn't I be mad? Why shouldn't **_THEY_** be mad? As your friends, don't we have the fucking right to be right beside you and hold you up when you fall? Give a shoulder to cry on? Make you realize that for fuck sake you don't **_HAVE_** to be alone!?"

He opened his mouth as if he was trying to say something, but for once he was shooting off bullshit nonsense that would make me shoosh him in return to him shushing me before.

"Does… _Sollux_ mean more to you than **all** of us combined?" I asked, feeling my mouth go dry all of a sudden as I looked at him.

He instantly cringed and shook his head, the tears escaping their comfortable seating on the corners of his eyes. "N-no! Sollux just… I don't know how the fuck he found out, but he did and…" he ground his teeth and dropped his head, trying to hide his eyes as his whole frame shook.

I slumped my shoulders slightly, looking down at the blanket over our laps for a second before cautiously looking at his face again. "Honestly Karkat. How can we show we fucking care if you don't give us the chance to support you? John and Jade, even Terezi had a special connection with you, but for someone like me… Someone who does nothing but drive you batshit crazy… how can I show you that you can fucking rely on me when you need to? Why wouldn't you let us have that opportunity?"

He slowly met my gaze, squeezing more tears out of his eyes. His breath hitched a second as he tried to keep himself together, but I knew he fucking needed this. Hell, if I were in his position and it were my bro… all I would want were my friends. "You're **_mad_**… because I wouldn't let you comfort me…" he hissed again, this time to keep himself from sobbing I was pretty sure…

"Exactly." I said, nodding, carefully letting go of his other arm and frowning down at the couch. "I mean, fuck. I know I'm a shitty fucking friend, but I had hoped you knew that you could rely on me… even a little."

He fell forward suddenly, burying his face back into my chest and clinging to the hoodie he swapped me. He choked, then sobbed, shaking his head as his frame continued to tremble. Once more, I found my arms around his frame, leaning back against the couch and petting his hair. I sighed, feeling my eyebrows furrow in frustration. "I'm sorry Karkat." I mumbled quietly to him, feeling him nod a bit. "I'm really fucking sorry you felt like you couldn't rely on me."

"You're here now though…" he managed to choke out.

I couldn't help but smile a little, giving a nod in return. "Yeah. I'm here now."

I let him cry into his own shirt for a good minute, then eventually reached into the pocket of my own shirt he was wearing, snatching my cell phone. I scrolled through my contacts and finally hit the call button, Karkat not really noticing anything as I traced small circles in the middle of his back to comfort him. At least he never noticed until I spoke. "John, hey dude, this is important.

"What?" Karkat's head shot up as I spoke, then he looked at the phone horrified. "D-Dave- No!" he tried to frown, but looked more like a kicked puppy instead. I sat up straighter so he couldn't get at the phone until I heard John's voice return to me.

"Oh hey Dave… I was starting to wonder when you were coming back- wait. Is that Karkat I hear?" He sounded quite excited, but I had to make that image come crashing down and quick. Karkat was struggling for the phone.

"Yeah. Dude, get over here right now, and get Tez and Jade. Karkat's dad passed this week I guess."

"**DAVE**." Karkat hissed, reaching for the phone, but I flopped sideways and buried underneath the blanket.

"Wait… what? Dave, are you serious? Kankri is…"

"You heard me man. Karkat could really use your support right now."

"Oh my gosh… I didn't- shit. I'll be right there man." His voice cracked and the phone disconnected almost right away. I couldn't help but smile a little, knowing John would come with the girls and fix this whole thing. This was more of their scene. Mine was to be a sarcastic asshole.

I hissed when I felt a pillow smack against my head over the blanket, popping out and frowning at Karkat, whose eyes were red from crying and sharp while he was pissed at me for doing that. "You idiot! I didn't want them to know! I didn't want you to know! Fuck!"

"I know." I said, giving a smile and sat up, wrapping my arms around him again and flopping down on my back, pulling him down with me. Cause fuck what he wanted. He struggled against me, grumbling nonsense as I felt my t-shirt getting wet from his salty tears, his face pressed against it past the open hoodie. "I know, but I'm an asshole. Even though you don't want it, you need it. Your friends need it. So I gotta be the person to break down all those walls and remind you that you're only human." He tensed, stopped completely, but then relaxed against me after I said it.

"You've got a squishy heart that contains a soul and all that other bullshit that makes us emotional bags of shit when tragedy strikes. After all, when the hero suffers from tragedy, shouldn't he have someone there to help him before he does something stupid?"

"You're fucking frustrating." He sighed, but curled into me as I pet his hair again.

"Do you hate me for being persistent?" I asked cautiously.

He was silent, but after a moment he slowly shook his head. "I don't hate you." He mumbled, his voice cracking a bit. "Just find you frustrating as hell."

I smiled and pet him again, giving him another tight hug as I felt him do the same. He needed this support more than he was letting on. I knew it, he knew it, but neither of us would speak it out loud. Some things were better left unsaid sometimes. This interaction was out of character enough for us, though not unwelcome.

"_You're welcome."_ I smiled.


	15. Chapter 15: Gratitude

_WOW. I bet you didn't see THIS coming, did you!?_

_As a special thanks for 75+ followers, I got my hands typing faster than they normally do and managed to churn out a SECOND chapter for this week! Wow guys, you are seriously amazing with all of the continued support! I can't thank you enough for it!_

_So this chapter is dedicated to all of you, as this is my own gratitude for all of the inspiration you give me to keep going!_

_And for that, I say thank you!_

* * *

**Chapter 15: Gratitude**

* * *

It only took about half an hour before there was a knock on the door. Karkat and I pretty much just laid together on the couch in silence, me patting his back and hair as he cried. He fucking needed the comfort and support, why didn't he see that? At any rate, he stiffened when he felt the knock, then slowly looked up at me, almost looking fearful. I offered him a small smile and gave him a nudge upwards, since he was still laying on top of me. "It's okay." I said quietly, glancing back at the door. "You've known them how long?"

"I don't want to face them like this." He grumbled, rubbing his palm against his right eye.

"Then think about it this way then." I said, sitting up a bit and forcing him to do it as well. "I'm imagine him being your father, he was a part of their lives as well. Don't you think it's unfair to hide his dead from them? Don't you think they might need some comfort too?"

He glanced to the floor after a moment, thinking hard on my words before giving the smallest nod I ever saw. I smiled and stroked his hair one last time before sitting up, carefully shoving him onto the sofa so I could answer the door, hearing another frantic knock right after. I padded my way over to the door, peeking through the peephole just in case and discovering that it was the people I had been waiting for. Part of me was disappointed that they had shown up, because it meant my time with Karkat had been cut short. But the other part of me told me to suck it the fuck up because they would have a better idea on how to comfort him than I would.

That bothered me. It really did.

Unlatching the lock, I opened up the door a bit to see worried eyes, Jade's were red and her face wet. John looked like he'd just seen a ghost. Terezi seemed shocked, looking at me in confusion, then past me to where Karkat sat on the couch, head hung and clasping his hands together. "Go on." I said, motioning behind me with my head. "He really needs your support."

John bit his bottom lip and started to take a step forward, but it was Jade who rushed in first, kicking off her shoes behind her and dropping on the floor in front of Karkat, yowling all of a sudden in mourning as she wrapped her arms around him. Karkat seemed hesitant at first, but slowly lifted his arms and put them around her back, patting her gently as she wailed her apologies into his ear.

My room mate gave me a small smile before he padded in after her, taking a seat next to Karkat and telling Jade she was going to suffocate him if she clung too tightly. Karkat seemed to relax a little with John's presence. They seemed closer than I had thought.

Terezi didn't go in quite yet however. She stood and stared up at me in question. I couldn't help but fidget on the spot. It didn't help that I left my shades in the kitchen, so I couldn't really hide my face. She gave me an odd stare before sighing and sagging her shoulders. She also padded over to Karkat, not before glancing over her shoulder at me one more time. She was probably wondering about our _situation_… you know. The whole _fake dating thing_? Argh, this was going to be interesting. These new feelings I was getting about Karkat and being in this twisted agreement to pretend to be Terezi's boyfriend, and the only person who was in on the action was Jade… that was a mess I was going to have to clean up.

Or you know what, probably not.

I looked down at my sneakers and I carefully pulled them on, thinking carefully on the subject. It was weird knowing that the feelings I had been feeling were a bit deeper for Karkat than I initially thought, but shit was starting to make sense. So much for 'No homo'. But when it all boiled down to it, I did annoy the ever sweet living fuck out of Karkat, so what were the chances my feelings would be reciprocated, him being bisexual or not?

There wasn't any point in moping about it though. It bothered me, but it wasn't like I couldn't just look another way. I'd been straight all of my life, so what was letting my one boy crush go going to do to me? Consulting my bro on the issue might have been a wise idea, considering just how tight we were. Then again, there was him trying to tell me to distract myself form those thoughts with Terezi-

"D-Dave? Where are you…?"

My thoughts were interrupted when I heard Karkat's hitched voice call to me. I jolted out of my daze and looked over, seeing him watching me carefully, as if he was unsure about something. Everyone else was looking at me too. Normally I liked to be the center of attention, but today was just not the day. I found it a bit hard to act with so much buzzing through my head right now, but I had to make do with what I had. "Sorry bro. Now that we have ourselves a mini get together, I might as well make myself helpful and get some refreshments or something." I said with a shrug. I couldn't help but notice Terezi giving me a bit of an eye, she looked suspicious. Argh. I hoped to fuck she didn't know too, that would just make things complicated. **More** complicated that is. "Any special requests?"

"Not really…" John muttered. He didn't really look like he had an appetite. Jade simply burried her face in Karkat's shoulder again as he gently patted her, his bloodshot eyes averting his gaze from me again.

"Something strong." Terezi muttered softly, rubbing the bridge of her nose before she reached over and started stroking Karkat on the back.

"Nothing, who cares, and alcohol. Awesome mix of requests." I muttered, looking to Karkat. "What about you, Karkles?"

He shrugged a bit, before slowly looking back towards me, with, was that a smile? Just the teeniest tiniest corner of his mouth seemed to be twisted up a bit. "Not soda." He gave a small laugh, petting Jade's hair and looking away.

"Right. You guys certainly make this easy." I shrugged and opened the door, glancing over my shoulder only once. "Be back in a bit then."

The ironic part about that was, I wasn't lying. They were making it easy for me to wander aimlessly and try and wrap my head around the mess that was presented to me. I went to the liquor store first and grabbed a bottle of whiskey and some coolers, but took my sweet time doing it.

I remembered when I was younger, my brother would always try and hook me up with boys, telling me it was okay to test the waters and find out what it was I liked. It wasn't until sometime in high school he suddenly stopped being so pushy on the subject and finally decided to leave me alone. When he was sent the picture of Karkat and I making out, he seemed genuinely **concerned.** Why, when he was as gay as a rainbow would he be concerned about his little brother falling for a guy?

_"Dave, this is going to sound really fucking weird, all things considering. But I've come across the rumor that you have a __**boyfriend**__."_

Rose brought it to bro's attention that I made out with Karkat, because she was _worried_ about me. Even though we'd been at school for over a month, I had yet to see head or tail of her. Yet she was worried enough to send a picture to Dirk of me sucking face with Karkat because she was worried for some strange ass reason, making him worried.

_"Kanaya sent it to Rose, and Rose in turn sent it to me. She's… worried."_

Why the _fuck_ were **_they_** worried about me dating a _guy_?

Throw Jade into the picture who seemed to know ahead of time about my feelings that I was just discovering towards Karkat, and being pretty supportive. Part of me thought she was actually crushing on one of the two of us, but never seemed to approach the subject.

_"What I meant was do you consider Karkat just a friend?"_

Then there was Vriska. Yeah, hadn't mentioned that name in a while, had I? We all still hung around, but I didn't invite her over to Karkat's house because she seemed to get under his skin somehow. The afternoon before we went to her house, she whispered something to him which made him immediately change his mind on everything and agree to go. What did she know about him that none of us did? How could she possibly know anything about him that Jade, John and Terezi didn't know? She had some sort of hidden agenda in regards to Karkat, and possibly John as well. What in the ever living fuck was going on in her brain?

_"You seem to be enjoying yourself a little too much there, straight guy."_

Terezi Pyrope. While I hit it off with her really good as a friend at first, things got weird between us. She was attractive, but I lost interest not long after the whole Karkat make-out thing. I come to find out she likes me, I tell her I can't return her feelings, and we start fake dating because it would benefit us both. Tonight she seemed a bit odd in terms of interaction, like she was waiting for me to explain myself for comforting a friend. Did she somehow know where my feelings were pointing towards? Did that make her jealous maybe because I didn't return hers and was interested in her friend instead? Not to mention she had said Rose approached her as well.

_"And you did… did she tell you to pursue me after or something?" "Not exactly, but she did say she would be very happy if we got together…"_

Sollux Captor. He didn't seem to like me from the get go. During the competition I could understand, we were against each other. But time has flown right by and he too seemed to cling to Karkat and want me far away from him. Sending him flowers, giving me death glares as I make out with him, sitting as close as he could to him and whatnot, and this guy supposedly had a girlfriend. What did he have against me, and why was he so protective over Karkat is he already had someone?

_"You could lay off of him so KK doesn't have to be so uptight, you know."_

"Augh." I grumbled as I laid my head against a shelf, only realizing that I had somehow wandered into the grocery store during my inner dilemma and monologue. There was so much going on, and I had no fucking clue what. It was almost like one of those crazy murder mystery games where you had to find all of the clues hidden on shelves to find out who killed the rich man in the mansion.

It was hard enough to focus on these newly discovered feelings, plus try and add all of these cockblocks into the equation to even see if this could ever work.

And none of that included anything about Karkat Vantas either. His feelings towards me. * ground my teeth and closed my eyes, realizing what an absolute prick I'd been to him. How would he ever feel the same about me as I did him, when all I ever did was piss him the fuck off?

_"I'm going to fucking tear you apart you cuntlicking dipshit!"_

_"You might think you're cool, but you won't be so hot if you stick around and let that happen either."_

_"Oh, whatever. You're a waste of fucking air!"_

_"Wanna bet, dick-for-brains? I don't even like you."_

_"Like __**hell**__ I would want to kiss you. Just cause I'm bi doesn't mean that I'm attracted to __**any**__ guy!_

_"Go fuck yourself on a vertical pitchfork, Strider."_

_"Fuck __**off**__ Strider. Go bother the shit out of __**someone else**__ for a change."_

_Stupid, stupid stupid. _What the fuck had I accomplished other than getting under his skin!?

_"You idiot! I didn't want them to know! I didn't want you to know! Fuck!"_

_"My father fucking kicks the Goddamn figurative bucket and I tell you to not give a flying fuck about it and you have the fucking __**NERVE**__ to call __**ME INSENSITIVE**__!?"_

_Stupid…_

_"I said I'll walk you back. Can't have you stumbling in front of a truck now, can I? You annoy the fuck out of, but-" _"**…****_but?_**_" "Never mind. I'll drag your ass home if I have to."_

_"N-no… I thought I told you I would be okay, you ass!"_

_"What is it you want from me, Dave?"_

_"Maybe you don't know the first thing about me."_

_"I don't hate you. Just find you frustrating as hell."_

I shook my head. There were so many mixed signals going on here that I didn't know if I'd ever get a straight, or not so straight answer in regards to whether or not this could work, or what other hidden agendas were playing in the background.

I had to get on the ball and start investigating some of this shit as soon as possible. Cause right now I felt like a fucking fly that was tangled in a sticky spiders web. Struggling and reaching for another bug on the other side that didn't know whether or not to reach for me as the venomous arachnid approached.

Caught in a spiders web…

Maybe I'd deal with _her_ first.

* * *

I arrived back at Karkat's dorm probably an hour and a half after I left, knocking on the door and waiting for a long fucking moment. About a minute and a half passed before Jade finally opened the door, offering me a small smile, her eyes still bloodshot from all of her crying. I offered a small smile in return, showing her the bags I brought full of drinks and goodies that I'd managed to scrape off of the shelves of the grocery store. She rolled her shoulders in a small shrug and stepped aside to let me in, and I gladly did, eyes searching immediately for the owner of this particular rooming arrangement.

He was still on the couch, leaning back in Terezi's lap as she pet him, and John sitting next to him talking quietly. Sounded like memories of when they used to hang out back at home. I couldn't help but smile a bit painfully at that realization. I would never have that opportunity to be that close to him.

"Here." Jade said quietly, rubbing at her eyes gently and reaching for the bags. "Let me help you get those prepared."

"I'm fine, Jade." I said quietly. I figured she would need more time with Karkat than the others. However, defiant as she was, she simply shook her head and took only one of the bags, heading for the kitchen.

That probably meant she wanted to talk.

Hoo boy.

I kicked off my shoes lazily and glanced one more time towards Karkat and the others, seeing him pause suddenly and glance in my direction. It looked like he'd stopped crying for a bit now, but looked at me as if he were waiting for something. I wasn't really sure what to do, feeling so awkward and out of place, so I simply lifted my hand and waved at him. A small smile played on his lips and he did the same before looking back at John and continuing their conversation.

Shaking my head, I stepped into the kitchen only to feel a gentle pat on my cheek. Jade was smiling up at me painfully, but looked peaceful. It was kind of weird. "Hi Jade. You're touching my face." I said quietly, but didn't bother to move.

She chuckled a bit, stroking my cheek for a moment before leaning back against the counter, closing her eyes as if she was thinking, but that peaceful look was still on her face. "You're definitely something else, Dave Strider." She laughed softly before rolling her shoulders and meeting my gaze again. "I can't believe you got through to him… how did you do it?"

"I guess you could say it was a mix of your cooking and your brothers pranks." I shrugged, leaning against the counter beside her. She cast me a skeptical look so I continued. "Also a mix of patience and plain assholery. Pretty sure once this whole thing blows over he'll go back to avoiding the ever living fuck out of me."

"Why do you think that?"

I sighed, looking at the annoyingly white ceiling as I tried to find the words my mind had been playing over in the last hour or so. "He said he doesn't hate me, but this is Karkat. I doubt he'll ever be as close with me as he is you guys." I gave a small laugh as I heard them chuckling softly in the living area about something. "I guess you could say I'm a bit jealous of that, as much as it pains me to admit that."

"You're probably right." She said without hesitation, looking past me and towards the living room. Wow Jade, way to be supportive of my hurting emotions. Though, I had to admit, all of their emotions were much more frazzled than mine at the moment. Death couldn't have been an easy thing to deal with. Me trying to think of how to deal with it was bad enough, but being forced to deal with it because it was my own blood or someone I even knew… I couldn't really grasp that concept.

Harley simply rolled her shoulders and looked at me with a soft smile again, reaching out and curling her fingers with mine. Normally I would have felt uncomfortable, but it didn't feel like she was doing it to flirt, but out of comfort. I could help but curl my fingers in hers a bit, but couldn't look at her straight in the eyes. "You can achieve so much more than we can, Dave." She said softly, catching my attention. She almost looked hurt, but at the same time, very happy about this apparent realization. "Karkat has been our friend for a few years now, but never has he opened up to us like he has you. Maybe it's because you are persistent, but gosh." She paused, trying to collect her thoughts.

"He refused to even acknowledge I was around when I knocked. I tried for a while as well. I texted him, called him, everything. We've been nothing but good friends since we met, and he still didn't want to open up to me."

"But he did to you."

"Ironically, I kind of forced him to… stumbled upon some flowers, got mad at him, you know. Just how our relationship always works." I grumbled, looking away from her as if the kitchen sink was much more interesting. It was actually, because this topic of conversation was a sore spot for me right now. Ouch Jade, really. Just drop it.

"Dave. What do you really know about Karkat?"

"Not much." I furrowed my brow at her and met her gaze, locking red eyes with emerald. She looked inquisitive, and yet like she already knew what I was going to say. "You really seem to know what I don't want to talk about, don't you?"

"You know he's a Cancer, right?"

"Yup." I grunted.

"He hides his emotions. He covers it up with a tougher, outer wall that he hopes no one will break down, because he doesn't want anyone to see how helpless he can be sometimes. You did just that."

"Come on, get to the point Jade." I was getting irritated.

"After you left and he grumbled about me getting your shirt all wet, we said we were sorry for not coming over sooner."

"There is a point to this, right?"

"He said _'Strider would have been enough, you guys_.'" I paused and felt my mouth go like sandpaper as I looked at her. What the actual fuck? "He's been talking yes, but he kept glancing at the time and towards the door. I don't know what you did, but someone you broke his wall down, and now he wants you to be here to be his wall and protect him… or at least that's what I think."

"You _think_…" I said skeptically.

She shrugged gently. "He trusted you to let us in. Otherwise he would have just told you to _'fuck off'_ and kick you out once you called us and locked the door. I'm sure even you would know that."

"Maybe he just knows it's pointless to fight with me."

"Maybe, but I doubt it." Another shrug. She wiped at her emerald eyes again with her free hand, then looked up at the ceiling. I followed her gaze and started tracing patterns in the messy stucco patterns. "So. I know there's been a lot on your mind lately, but have you really thought about our conversation?"

I bit my bottom lip as I stared at the ceiling, my eyes would have betrayed my poker face if she could have seen them. "Yeah. I guess a bit."

"And?"

I felt my shoulders sag and finally glanced in her direction, and she in mine. I didn't really want to say it out loud. It was hard enough of a pill for me to swallow on my own.

Then again, I would have been a huge fucking hypocrite if I didn't… I already bitched at Karkat for not informing us today on what was bothering him. So with a sigh, I gave a curt nod, struggling to find my voice. "I thought about it long and hard. And honestly the more I thought about it and the harder I tried to get to him I think I came to realize that I-" I paused and looked away shamefully.

"You like him?" she asked, curling her fingers tighter in mine. I swallowed the lump in my throat and returned the gesture, albeit nervously and gave the tiniest of nods.

Jade released a heavy breath of air before leaning forward and wrapping her arms around my frame, letting go of my hand in the process. I couldn't return the affection, my hands were too busy trying to hold me upright against the counter. "I'm glad." She said airily. "Karkat needs someone like you, Dave. You're just the type of person he needs."

"You're saying this as if we're a god damn couple or something, Jade."

"True." She said, sounding slightly disappointed. "But who said he doesn't feel the same?"

"Do you know that?" I asked, feeling my breath hitch.

"Not at all, unfortunately." She groaned. "But like I said before… he does tend to hide his feelings."

"Yeah. He also likes to hide Sollux Captor too." I grumbled.

She went stiff for a minute before backing up and giving me a confused look. "Wait, what was that about Sollux Captor?"

"The guy has a hate on for me, Jade." I motioned my head back towards the living area, giving her a defeated look. I felt like I'd already lost the battle. "Sollux knew about Karkat's dad before I did… sent Karkat flowers and everything. I wouldn't have known about this whole ordeal if he didn't. I doubt Karkat would have told me."

"Hum…" Jade put a hand to her mouth in thought, tapping her index finger against her lips gently. "Did Karkat tell him about it?"

I thought about it long and hard for a moment, before shaking my head. "He claims he never told him when we were having a shout fest earlier."

"So how did he…?"

"Beats the heck out of me. Not a damn clue. Even at Vriska's house though, you gotta admit, Karkat stuck pretty close to him."

She couldn't help but grin a little, covering her mouth coyly. "I seem to remember him moaning in your mouth as you made out with him."

"Oi. Anyone would moan from a Strider sloppy make out." I smirked a little, but it was all I could muster. I leaned back on the counter more and felt my fingers touch my shades, feeling a sudden pang in my gut at the fact that I had left them lying there so long.

I turned and snatched them, starting to put them on my face when I felt the slender fingers of Jade Harley gently stop my hands from rising further. She carefully nodded at the counter, motioning for me to put them back. "Dave. Learn to take your own advice every now and then. If you don't want Karkat to hide his feelings, maybe you shouldn't hide yours."

I felt my mouth pop open a bit at her words, then glanced towards the kitchen doorway where I could hear John talking again.

_"Is that why you wear those sunglasses, Dave? To make sure people can't see your weaknesses?"_

John's words crept up in the back of my mind. He asked me that question the day after I woke up in Karkat's bed, and of course I retorted they were perfect for a Strider, but even then, it hit home. As much as I loved these things, they both had a point. These things were my protective mask and shell, just as Karkat's anger was his.

"Get the fuck out of my head, Jade. It's kind of creepy."

"I thought there might have been enough room for at least a tour." She shrugged.

"Ouch." I said, licking my finger ad pinching the air, as if putting out the flame of a miniature burn. "Not too bad, Jade. Not too bad."

"And neither are you." She shrugged, reaching over and patting me on the back before giving a heavy nod. "Thank you, Dave. You have no idea just how much of a difference you make." Jade smiled a bit before snatching up the goodies on the counter and heading back out into the living room, offering up everything I had bought on my little expedition out.

I simply stood staring down at my own reflection in my glasses, red eyes staring back at me and looking as pathetic as I felt. They had a god damn point.

_Take my own advice. _

* * *

Hours just seemed to pass by where we all sat around the living room and talked idly about more topics than I cared to count on my hands more than six times. I'm not count Dracula, therefore counting the amount of topics we've been on really doesn't rank high on my priorities list. So I lost track. Big whoop. Hoo-rah and all the jazz complete with jazz fingers and all. Moving on.

We more or less all crowded around the couch. There were laughs and tears, muttered nonsense and silly plans and shenanigans for weeks down the road, but eventually time ticked down to the point where everyone was starting to yawn, myself included. It'd been a long ass week, and today was no exception. Terezi was the first to excuse herself, offering Karkat a hug and a creepy lick on the face to try and cheer him up. It ended in him sputtering nonsense at her, but seemed to work none the less.

John and Jade both went to excuse themselves at the same time, Jade giving Karkat a hug and myself probably the sweetest smile I'd seen her muster yet.

John was just about to exit when he paused and looked at me kind of oddly, then back to Karkat. "You coming, Dave?" he asked innocently enough.

I stared up at him from the floor, opening my mouth a little to respond but Karkat spoke up before I could. "We have some homework to finish up first. I kind need Dave's help since he was actually there to see the presentations." He grumbled, leaning back into the sofa, but refusing to make eye contact with anyone.

I cast him a little grin, then looked to John, giving a bit of a nod. "Don't worry bro. I'll be along in a while. So leave the deadbolt off, okay?"

Smiling, John nodded. "You got it, _'bro'_." He said with a small laugh, then carefully excused himself.

Once gone, that just left myself and Karkat. He laid on the couch with his arms crossed, and me sitting cross legged on the floor. We sat in an awkward silence for a long time, I fidgeted once and Karkat didn't seem to want to make any eye contact. Well, I did kind of force this whole get together to happen. My eyes went to the unfinished homework now tossed on the other side of the room, wondering if he really wanted to do it or not, as he wasn't really too quick in moving.

"Sooo. Homework." I muttered softly.

He curled up his nose and rolled on his side, back facing me on the couch and grumbled into the leather. "Fuck it. Go home if you want, Strider."

And he was back to calling me Strider. I couldn't help but frown at this turn of events. Augh. He was like a coin that kept getting flipped. Heads on one side, tails with middle fingers high in the sky on the other side. "So you had something else in mind then."

"Not really." He muttered, un-moving.

The awkward vibes were almost too much to handle. I ran a finger through my hair then down the back of my neck, suddenly feeling both uncomfortable and slightly hot. I knew what my instincts were telling me, but at the same time they were contradicting themselves. Part of my instincts were saying he asked you to stay for a reason, take him up on the offer, while the other half was screaming I was misunderstanding and taking advantage of this situation would not only earn me less favor points, but would inevitably make him hate me more and see me as the lowest of low.

So, I decided on a happy medium.

With a long sigh I stood up, brushing myself down and walking over to the side of the couch. He automatically looked over his shoulder at me, then jolted when I bent down and struggled to pull him up. "What the- _Dave_!" well, he was calling me by my name again, that was a good sign. I grinned at him as I yanked him up in a sitting position, then scooped one arm under his knees, and the other behind his shoulders, hoisting him up. He yelped in surprise, followed by an expected colorful slur of words as he reached out and clung to my neck as I spun around and almost toppled over. I got back to chapter 2 where I explain that he was decently light, but I still was no incredible hulk.

"Dave Strider, fucking put me down! I'll gouge your fucking eyes out!" he hissed as I stumbled towards his room. I couldn't help but stop in the doorway and lean my face down towards his, giving him a hooded eye look with the tiniest smug smirk I could muster ta the moment. His cheeks flared up and his eyebrow twitched.

"Would you really?"

"You're a fucking prick." He grumbled, but yelped again as I stumbled forward into his room and eventually half dropped, half set him down on his bed, but half fell over him. I braced my hands on either side of his frame as he stared up at me, our chests heaved in a similar manner, both of us panting, though I was slightly heavier since I was the one doing all the god damn work, lifting and lugging and so on.

He looked so innocent, staring up at me like that. Albeit nervous, but innocent. He looked like he was waiting for something, but wasn't really sure what.

And the other side of my brain screaming it was wrong stopped me from leaning forward and taking his lips with my own like I had weeks ago. I couldn't make the ache go away from the loss of his father, and doing something like that now would be sickened, taking advantage of someone feeling so lonely… I wanted to, but it was wrong.

So fucking wrong.

With a heavy sigh, I sat up a bit and glanced away from him, looking for something to distract me, but nothing came into view. So, maybe it was best I took my leave. "Well, now that I know the princess made it to her bed safe and sound-"

"Fuck you, Strider." He grumbled, I could see him sit up a little from the corner of my eye.

"I guess I can safely assume it's my turn."

I stood up and took a mild step forward, ready to leave without much else of a word, but Karkat's hand snatched out and grabbed my wrist, giving me a harsh pull so I found my ass on the edge of the push mattress. I couldn't help but be surprised. After all, Karkat fucking Vantas just pulled me back down on his bed when I offered to leave. "Did I… forget something?" I said, glancing back at him.

He seemed just as shocked with himself as I was, but slowly tightened his grip on my wrist, refusing to make eye contact. "_Stay…?"_ he said almost too quiet that I could barely tell what he was saying.

"Wha-"

"I said _fucking stay_!" he growled, eyes darting away as he gripped my wrist even tighter.

I couldn't believe what my ears were relaying back to me. Did she seriously tell me to stay here not once, but twice? "R-right. On the couch then." I said, refusing to believe what I was hearing.

"Oh for fuck sake Dave, you're so fucking frustrating!" he hissed, leaning forward, causing me to jolt backwards. "You washed my fucking sheets today but the quilt it still fucking damp!" _No it wasn't. _"So it's going to be fucking cold and as the person who clearly brought this chilly fucking nightmare upon me to actually make me sick as some weird and twisted way of spending more time with me I think that you should man the fuck up for your mistakes and at least do the honorable thing and keep me fucking warm or something."

I was speechless.

Was he _seriously_ asking me to…?

No. No he wasn't. He was simply asking me to stay. Nothing beyond that. I could see the tears in the corners of his eyes again, and couldn't help but sigh, leaning forward and brushing one off them off of his face. "Dude. You could have just said you didn't want to be alone. I would have understood."

"Well. I don't fucking want to be alone." He grumbled quietly, sinking into the mattress a bit.

"Alright then." I said quietly, running my hand down his cheek and swallowing the lump in my throat.

I couldn't help but grin after a minute though, leaning back and whipping off the hoodie he gave me, much to his shock. His mouth popped open but he didn't say anything, just some weird squeaks came from his throat as he tried to comprehend the meaning behind my actions as I pulled my t-shirt over my head and tossed it aside as well. He gawked, I grinned. "Oh calm down, Karkat. It's nothing you haven't seen before, remember?"

"The fuck are you doing, Dave?" He winced as I leaned forward and grabbed my own hoodie, still over him. I teasingly grabbed the zipper to it and started to tug it down, but his hand flew up to grab mine, stopping me from proceeded further.

This wouldn't do.

I laughed and struggled with him, fighting to get his god damn zipper as he flailed uselessly, sputtering bullshit that wasn't even comprehensible. It was getting me nowhere sadly, so I leaned down and quickly put my lips near his neck, but refused to actually touch it. I simply breathed a heavy breath on it, and I felt him go tense but stop struggling underneath me as I repeated the process a few times. His chest was heaving under mine, and I could only imagine what his heart rate was doing.

And with a final tug, I pulled the zip to my hoodie open and sat up, tugging it from the hood upwards, out from under him and releasing his arms. I stared up at me with a red face, eyes searching and confused as I sat over his frame, smiling down at him as I tossed the hoodie aside.

But things don't play out quite like I'm sure you want them to. I already said it once, it would be wrong of me to take advantage of this situation. Sorry for getting your hopes up, but perhaps a more intimate scene would be best suited later down the line, should the opportunity arise, hm?

Anyways, I simply crawled off of the confused form under me and crawled to the opposite side of him. I reached down and grabbed the not wet blanket and pulled it over us before carefully snuggling close to Karkat, wrapping my arms around his frame and forcing his back to me. Okay, so maybe I was spooning him, big deal. I was only giving him what he asked for!

"Dave…?" he choked.

"What, you said the blanket was went so I should keep you warm, and I'm pretty sure every lame movie that involves ice and people freezing involves direct body contact as it's the best way to warm a person. Isn't this what you asked for?"

He let out a long breath after a moment, snuggling down into the mattress more and bringing his hands up closer to his face. "In an ass backward sort of way, I fucking guess so."

"Then get some sleep, Karkat." I said almost firmly. "I won't leave you alone, so you can rest easy, okay?"

He gave a bit of a nod, pressing his back more into my chest, possibly out of instinct due to the warmth. "Thanks Dave…" he muttered quietly.

I smiled a bit and leaned my face down so my forehead was touching the back of his head, my mouth near his neck, but didn't move any closer, simply enjoying the closeness I managed to get, and yet not completely taking advantage of the situation. After all, he did ask for it. The words of thanks were enough to calm me to the point of dozing.

And as my eyelids started to close, I half wondered if I should call John and tell him to lock the door after all.

Then I shrugged off the thought when I realized he probably already knew that I wasn't coming home tonight, and already had the deadbolt on anyways.

No point in ruining the moment.


	16. Chapter 16: Change of Scenery

_Right, so this was unexpectedly cut off due to suddenly crunched time with work including two huge projects, and though I have a mini vacation coming up, a fair amount of that will be used on said projects, as well as getting ready to throw a homestuck birthday party for the person who got me into homestuck. _

_Will I post pictures of the cake? You better believe it._

_Will I work on yet another chapter ASAP?_

_Of course I will.  
_

_Three Updates in the run of a week?_

_I love you guys. _

* * *

**Chapter 16: Change of Scenery**

* * *

"I thought we were done with making a scene in class, Mr. Strider."

This professor really knew how to push my fucking buttons and today I wasn't putting up with this bullshit. I slammed my hands on the table and glared across the Lecture theatre at him, the same asshole who I got in a tiff with over Karkat's absence, none too pleased with the role he was handing me. "This is bullshit. I refuse the role. It makes no damn sense!"

The cocky fucking smug look that plastered on his face was more than enough to send fire down my back. Oh ho, I was NOT happy whatsoever. "It makes perfect sense. You like to be center stage, Mr. Strider."

"The fact that you called me MISTER Strider is reason enough. Dude, I am NOT being Juliet. No way, no how. This is crossing the line, old man."

I could see Karkat in his seat just a few rows over rubbing at his forehead. I'm pretty sure it was because of my shouting and his stress in terms of getting a role as well, mixing to make one massive headache-

Well, you've giving me that confused what the actual fuck look. Did I fucking miss something?

Oh, you did. Huh. Well, I suppose I have the time to enlighten you before I go back to talking about the endless bitchfest I was having with my professor.

It's November now and over a month has passed since Karkat's dad passed away. He didn't talk about it much, but I always made him aware I was more than willing to listen behind any closed doors, and would never make any ironic remarks about it. He'd only give me a nod and assure me he knew. During one of the few times he asked me to come over, he told me everything I needed to know. His dad apparently died due to a massive blood clot after a long flight back from someplace in Asia… he died peacefully in his sleep. It was unfortunate, but since he slept most of the flight, he didn't get the proper movements he needed to make sure clots didn't happen.

Just another reason I don't ever want to get on a flight. Sheesh.

Karkat's mother had died when he was very young, so he never even knew her. Apparently his father was a politician though, travelling all over the place and trying to promote peace among restless countries. Due to his passing, Karkat basically inherited everything, including a hefty life insurance. His schooling was taken care of, but we all know that money doesn't really replace a human being. It was nice to know his dad was looking after him, but he left far too soon as far as anyone is concerned.

Unfortunately, I can't turn back time and I can't fix things. Or else I would and get on that plane and make the fucker dance on it. That would stop clots from happening, I'm pretty sure.

But that's in the past, and as I said, I did not have the power to turn back time in any way, shape or form. Nothing could be done now but be there for him as he dealt with his mourning.

He was back to school the day after I stayed the night at his place, and for a change he didn't kick me out in the morning. Though he grumbled he was tempted to. Didn't surprise me. Hell, does it surprise you? It shouldn't. He promised me he'd be back to class asap and thanked me once more. It was weird seeing him being so calm and relatively quiet, but when you consider what he'd been through, I couldn't really imagine him being his normal self. Hell, I fucking wouldn't be, poker face and prince of irony or not.

So yeah, fast-forwarding.

The fake dates continued to with Terezi, but they were further between each other. She asked me if anything happened between Karkat and I, which of course I told her no. Karkat was just my bro. It wasn't exactly a lie, Karkat and I weren't a thing at all. I might have discovered my feelings for him, but like fuck I would act on those feelings anytime soon. While he seemed slightly friendlier to me now, including actually fucking calling and texting me now, he didn't seem all that different compared to how he was before his dad passed on.

There were never any hints tossed towards me about him possibly feeling the same. In a moment of desperation one day, I sought out Jade's advice, but she told me it was probably best I didn't pressure him. As I had thought before, if he was feeling lonely from it all, he might just go with it and end up hating himself for being pulled in by the heat of the moment. Also there were no signs that he reciprocated. The closest thing I had to a sign was when I kissed him, but given the sour look he had after, that might have also been the head of the moment.

Jade had been nothing but supportive. She really was someone I could consider a good friend. I felt like shit as there wasn't much I could offer her in return to all of the help she'd given me, but she insisted it was fine and continued to be an amazing person.

In regards to all of the bullshit I thought of a while ago, Rose and Dirk not wanting me to have a boyfriend, Vriska's secret agenda, Sollux's absolute hate on for me, I was no where near closer to figuring out what the fuck was going on. I had noticed since Karkat and I were hanging out more, Sollux wasn't seen or heard from as much. Every now and then we had bumped into him, but he would only kindly regard Karkat, then barely acknowledge my existence. Of course I got sarcastic with him with his bullshit attitude, but he just wrote me off and asked Karkat to call him all of the time.

Needless to say I was a little fucking jealous every time. Argh.

So yeah, more than a month has passed which has brought us up to this completely not cool spot, but terribly ironic to the point where even I'm cringing. After Christmas break we'll be doing a play for the school, and improv version of Romeo and Juliet.

Improv you say? Let me explain.

Basically we will be doing the script as best as we can, but the audience, teachers as well as other cast members can pull shit to make us think on the spot and try and save the play, no matter how ridiculous it is. It was basically a lesson of 'things don't always go as well as planned' and we have to work on the spot to try and save it. From the sounds of previous years, it usually ends up being a huge fucking mess. The students do what they can to save it, and they are graded based on the circumstances. However, the audience and teachers usually go a little nuts and power hungry and by the end of it, the story isn't remotely close to what it originally is.

Today we were getting roles, and the teacher apparently thought it would be hil-fucking-larious to make me Juliet.

"No dude. I absolutely refuse to take part in this. Make Mia Juliet."

"I can live with this." Mia grinned.

"The role has been decided, Strider. You will be taking the role of Juliet." The proff said in his smug voice.

I snorted, curling my fingers on the desk. "This is complete bullshit. Do I look like a girl? Do I have a girly voice? I'm pretty sure you're not thinking this through."

"Strider." The professor said with that smirk, putting his book down and looking at me straight in the eye. "You always make a point that you love the spotlight on you, to be center stage, and what better role than Juliet?"

"As much of a pansy as he is, I'll be Romeo, k thanks."

"On top of this, back when Shakespeare wrote the play, women weren't even allowed to act, and they had to have young boys play the parts of women instead. It was never frowned upon, in fact it was more accepted than the thought of a woman acting." I felt my back go tense at his argument. Bullshit. He was just trying to get under my skin. "So, are you saying that actors from the 1500's into the early 16th century have more balls than you do?"

"Is that a challenge?" I hissed, narrowing my eyes.

"It is whatever you make it to be."

I ground my teeth together in frustration, and of course his words dug at the back of my mind. Like hell men who wore boots UP to their balls had more than me. So after a moment I finally grinned, stepping back and placing my foot on the desk, as if I'd just discovered a new god damn country. "Fine. Watch as I blow your fucking mind away as the most ironic fucking Juliet you've ever seen." I'd put him in his place. He thought this would put me in mine… I'd show him. Cause fuck him, that's why.

"Have fun with that then, Strider. We'll have to see your performance in January." He looked back to his list and started assigning the rest of the roles, and I took my seat again, only hearing some snarky comments to my left from Mia. Augh. She drove me nuts. I wished she and Karkat would just trade seats already.

Speaking of Karkat, it looked like he got the backup role of Romeo, in case something happened to Tucker who got the main role. Blargh. That meant I had to kiss him, not once, but several times. Not cool, teach. Aside from that, Karkat was in charge of scenery and a few background characters whom didn't even have names. I couldn't help but think it would be great if Tucker went and broke his fucking leg or something and couldn't make the play, then Karkat would have to be Romeo.

That was way too much to hope for though. Though it was ironic he got the backup part.

When the bell rang, it signaled the end of class, and the start of a nice long weekend.

Hell. The Fuck. Yes.

I stretched and waited for Karkat to walk over after gathering up his things, and he just cast me a skeptical look. "Seriously." He grumbled, staring at me.

I brought my voice up a few octaves to sound like the cheesiest chick I could manage at the time. "Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo? Will you be surprised when I lift up my skirt and no snatch is present?"

"Augh." Karkat groaned, finding his face in his palm as I continued to act like a sarcastic idiot. I wasn't happy, but I had to make the best of it for fuck sake. "Not in public Strider. Or you can bet I'll fucking ignore the shit out of you until this is over."

"Ouch man." I said back in my usual voice. "So cold… I gotta practice this shit man. In case you haven't noticed, not only am I lacking in the chesticles department, I also have a shitty voice for this role." I groaned and watched as the teacher left. "Mr Gavery did this on purpose just to piss me off."

"Of course he did you dumbfuck." Karkat hissed at me as I cocked an eyebrow at him. "You two butt heads like every other class, and you act out of line with him."

"His high and mighty attitude like he knows all annoys me."

"And you annoy half of the class with your shenanigans."

I shrugged. "Still gotta practice."

"You can practice the voice at home and John and listen to your annoying squawking. You're going to have trouble in the '_chesticles_' department though. Might want costumes to take care of that for you."

"I'd rather not have two lumps of fat attached to my chest thank you very much."

"For a straight guy, you seem to dislike boobs all of a sudden." He grumbled, brushing past me.

"Nah. Breasts are _awesome_. Just not attached to me." Though he was right, I wasn't just about to admit it. While women were still attractive, right now my mind was stuck on only one person, and he too was lacking chesticles.

"Whatever." Karkat grumbled, walking out of the classroom, and I followed behind him without saying much else. As we walked the hallways and made it outside, a thought occurred to me. It was Thanksgiving weekend. I glanced carefully at him next to me, but his face seemed to be staring straight ahead. It was terrible ground to even ask what his plans were, since he no longer had a mother or father to be thankful for. How did I even ask without hurting him?

"_So_, Karkitty…"

"You know I hate that." He grumbled, glaring at me. I simply ignored him.

"Are you just staying here for the weekend, or do you have an aunt or uncle or something you might go see…?" I was treading into dark waters, I knew that, but I had to be sure.

He didn't stop, nor did I see and change in his expression. He just glanced up at me once, then gave a small shrug. "Staying here. My dad was an only child."

Ouch. So he really was all alone. Thanksgiving weekend and he had no family whatsoever to be thankful for. I wanted to reach out and hug him, but he made it clear he didn't want me interacting with him like that in public, especially if my _girlfriend_ saw. I stayed silent for a long moment before eyeing a classroom off to our right. It was empty now and it gave me the perfect opportunity.

I snatched my hand out and grabbed Karkat's wrist, pulling him into the classroom and only hearing him sputter nonsense. I kicked the door shut, pulling him around to the other side of it and wrapped my arms around him. He grumbled into me, hands limp at his side. "Strider. What in the ever living fuck do you think you're doing?" he groaned, looking up ta me with very un-enthused eyes.

I pulled my shades from my face so he could see I was being serious when I brought this up to him. "Come with me for the weekend."

"What!?" he gasped, trying to push away from me. "What kind of idiotic suggestion is that, Strider!?"

"I mean it just like I said. Instead of staying here and doing nothing for the next 4 days, come have Thanksgiving with the Striders."

He had that sour, skeptical look on his face again, frowning up at me. "Seriously. That's kind of out of the blue and awkward as fuck."

"Not really out of the blue." I calmly explained, still making sure to hold one arm around his back and the other lifting to point at the ceiling as if I was pointing out there was a fucking cloud in there. You know, the doom cloud above his head. Someone needed to smack it the fuck away. "It's Thanksgiving weekend and you'll be stuck here alone. Can you really pass up a steamy hot plate of Strider Turkey? Okay, not Strider turkey cause Jake is cooking, cause bro don't know how the fuck how."

"I supposed that's where you got your cooking skills then."

"Dude, you have no idea. Once he tried to make Kraft Dinner when Jake was away, and he burned it. Did you know that overcooked Kraft Dinner tastes like shitty overcooked fake cheese mashed potatoes?"

"Enlightening." Karkat groaned, rolling his eyes, then rubbing the bridge of his nose. "Still awkward as fuck. It's like a family thing, you know?" he grumbled, keeping his eyes clenched shut as if I were giving him a migraine or something. Fuck that, I wasn't letting up.

"I just said dude. Jake is going to be there. Jake is my brother's boyfriend."

His head shot up after a second, cocking an eyebrow in surprise. "Your brother's… boyfriend…" he grumbled, sounding skeptically, but looked a little more than intrigued.

"Kanaya too. Rose and Kanaya are dating and she invited her up from what I hear from Dirk."

"And your parents?"

"I don't _have_ any, bro."

Karkat just stared at me long and hard after I said it probably far too casually for his liking. As I had said before though, it was kind of hard to cry over someone you never knew. He probably felt similarly towards his mother. Maybe a longing to know them, but you can't possibly mourn over how much someone meant to you when they were nothing but mere strangers. He glanced away, trying to push himself free of my grasp, but I wasn't fucking letting go. "Well, they're all dating. We're nothing like that so it would be weird."

"Nah. Not really. We're a pretty casual family, so you don't have to worry about that."

"Why don't you take Terezi?" he snapped slightly, looking at me and waiting for an answer.

However, I frowned probably all too quickly and gripped him tighter, refusing to let him intimidate me with this. Fuck. I wish I could just tell him! "For someone who was pushing Terezi to confess and trying to get me to say something to her, you're awfully sour about the whole thing." I snarled slightly, only seeing his lip twitch a little, but he didn't say anything. "Besides. Terezi I'm sure has her own family she wants to see, and I don't want to leave you here fucking alone."

"Well." He looked away, but not bothering to struggle… I think he knew at this point I wasn't letting up. "Too bad. Because I'm not fucking going."

I suddenly let go of him and leaned back against the wall, pulling my shades over my eyes again. "Alright. Cool enough." I mumbled, pulling my phone out of my pocket and clicking a few buttons.

Karkat backed away from me and watched me for a moment until I put the phone to my ear. "What are you doing?"

"Calling Dirk." I said with a shrug. "Gotta break the news to him that I'm not going home this weekend."

"**WHAT!?"** he hissed lunging at me and grabbing for the phone. I was taller than him, so I stood on my tippy toes and held it up out of his reach. "Oh no you fucking don't, Strider. You are going home to see your brother!"

"Nope. I got another bro to take care of."

Another hiss just as I heard Dirk pick up the receiver, I eyed Karkat, waiting for it. I knew it would come, but he was taking his good old time. "What's up?" Dirk's voice came from the other end.

"Hey bro, just calling to tell you-"

"FUCK. I'LL GO THEN." I cringed at his loud voice, and I heard Dirk drop the receiver. Pulling the phone slightly away from my ear, I looked at his red tinged face as he gripped the collar of my shirt, frowning at me. "If you're going to be an ass about it, I'll fucking go. Jesus." He growled.

"Bro? Dave? What's going on? Who the fuck is screaming at you?" I heard Dirk asking, he sounded a bit worried.

I simply smiled and put the phone back to my ear, but didn't take my gaze off Karkat for a second as I once more removed my shades from my face. "Sorry. Loud hallways and shit. You know how it is." Karkat stuck out his tongue in defiance. Cute. "Anyways, just calling to tell you to set up another seat I'm bringing a friend home with me."

I snapped the phone shut before Dirk could ask any questions, smiling still at Karkat. "Was that so bad?"

"Argh." He grumbled, grabbing the bridge of his nose again, seemingly the thing he did when he was annoyed. "Whatever. You're so-"

"Frustrating. I know." I smirked, patting the top of his head.

* * *

"I told you wearing the sweater was a bad idea." I said, starting at Karkat as he was practically ripping off his turtleneck and throwing it hatefully to the airport floor. "This is Texas, man. You know. Hot. Though technically we had this kind of weather two months ago at college, it's a difference since now we're about 30-40 degrees different now."

"Yeah, I fucking know!" he grumbled, picking up his sweater distastefully and tying it around his waist. He'd made sure to wear a t-shirt underneath, but I could see he was annoyed already with the heat. I carefully pat his back, earning a glare from the shorter party as he snatched up his bag. "Remind me again how you coaxed me into this bullshit."

"This was only a few hours ago. I said I was going to stay with you if you didn't go."

"Blackmailing fucking asshole."

"Oi." I grumbled, lifting my shades from my face. "You didn't have to come. What do you care if I don't go home for Thanksgiving, anyways?"

"What do you care if I spend it alone?" he hissed dangerously, glaring up at me. His mood seemed to be more foul than usual, probably because he wasn't used to the heat.

I pursed my lips at his rebuttal. No matter what I said he wouldn't like the answer, so I simply shrugged. "Why do you answer a question with a question?"

"Why do YOU answer my question with a question?"

"Why are you repeating what I say?"

"You're a moron." He grumbled, getting tired of my bantering and just backing out. Victory again. I couldn't help but smirk as I stepped out into the sunlight, smirking at my surroundings. Karkat blanched as he glanced around, completely unfamiliar with the surroundings. I glanced around and waved to a taxi, coaxing him over, then hooked my arm with Karkat's. Probably not the wisest idea, but honestly I didn't care at the moment. I was heading home to see my bro and Karkat came with me.

The taxi popped his trunk open to which I tossed my bag in the back, and took Karkat's as well, carefully setting it inside. I didn't know what all he brought, but I wanted to make sure I wasn't going to decimate anything fragile. Karkat was quick to slide in the taxi and I followed suit in the back, slamming the door behind me while my partner cringed at the force I used. "Can you slam it any harder, Dave?"

"You have no idea." I grinned, but then a thought occurred to me. "Then again, you'll probably have a better idea once we get home."

"Slamming doors at home…?" he groaned skeptically.

"_Soooooomethin_g like that." Fingers ran through my white blond hair nervously, then I caught the eye of the taxi driver, waiting for directions. "Right. Onward then."

The drive through the city was long and painful, mostly cause Karkat wouldn't stop grumbling about a shit ton of nonsense. All the while I rubbed my forehead and wondered just how in the ever loving fuck had I developed a guy crush on him. But even through all of his groaning and annoyed banter, all I could recall was what he was like when we were alone together. How everything just felt right when I held him and helped keep his world together, how every now and then I would throw him off guard and that redness would creep up in his face, and how Jade insisted we were perfect for one another.

How he trusted me when he had no reason to trust me at all.

However, his bantering paused when we stopped finally, then glanced back at me not saying anything. He didn't really say anything in regards to the house, but then again, it was a normal three story building. Ground floor, second floor, attic and roof. I couldn't help but grin as I slide across the seat and Karkat blinked through the window, only removing himself when the taxi driver muttered something under his breath.

We quickly retrieved our bags from the cab and I paid up the driver, waiting until he sped away to the next destination, looking at my partner who simply stared up at the building. "You've been quiet for three whole minutes. I'm impressed."

"Hm." Was all he said as he looked at the house.

"Hm?"

"It looks… _normal_."

"Why yes, Karkat. Striders live in houses, just like normal people. The King of Irony may be a King, but he doesn't sit on a gold mine."

"Could've fooled me, the place is still fucking huge."

I shrugged in response as he looked at me, as if expecting some sort of witty banter that I just didn't have in me right now. I couldn't use up all of my irony or energy on this. I was going to need it to be here this weekend, and I fucking knew it. "Let's go in then." I said, taking a step forward before stopping and looking cautiously behind my back. "Just. Stay a good two feet behind me, okay, Karkat?"

He blinked, crossing his arms tightly over his chest with that signature sour look of his. "What, suddenly don't want to be close to me or something, Strider?"

"You'll see. Just do it."

He shrugged, but apparently decided to listen to me as he kept his distance when I walked forward. I was careful to make sure he never got too close, and when I reached the door, glanced over my shoulder to judge the distance between us. Happy with the distance, I smirked and nodded. "Might wanna hang on to your hat."

"Not wearing a fucking hat, Strider." He hissed.

Another shrug as I grabbed the doorknob, twisting it sideways and shoving the door in, only to dodge mere millimeters away from the a sharp katana that was precisely aimed for my head. Palm outstretched, I reached over, grabbing the handle of the incredibly shitty sword he chose to wield, and the other his free wrist. Eyes met through shades eyes and his grin was wide and challenging. His shoulder broad and strong, folded white collared t-shirt complete with leather short fingerless gloves and ironic anime shades.

_Dirk Strider. _

"Strife already? I haven't even unpacked yet, Bro." I smirked as I heard Karkat drop his bag behind me. Yeah, he probably didn't expect my brother to try and kill me upon arriving home. This was normal. It always had been. I'd explain everything to him later so he didn't call the cops freaking the fuck out.

"You knew it was coming. You can unpack later." He grinned, tossing his head backwards as he shoved my sword into my hand. Fuck, it was nice to have it back. Too bad it was banned from campus. "Roof?"

I nodded. "Roof." I smirked over my shoulder at Karkat as he tried to utter something in his surprise. "Sorry. Got some bro business to take care of. Introductions later."

I felt Dirk's hands go tense at this, but his face showed nothing. "You better believe I'm going to hand your ass to you, Dave. Guaranteed you've gotten rusty."

"It's that assumption that's going to make you lose." I said pulling my hands away from him and tossing the sheathe carelessly aside in the doorway, shoving past Dirk and heading upstairs.

I could hear Jake asking what was going on as Dirk's heavy steps followed up behind me. I was sure he'd watch Karkat and explain things to him while my brother and I had some casual, well needed strife. I wondered idly if he'd learn anything new.

For now though, I was fine. I was going to make this weekend worth it for all of us. Perhaps finally get to the bottom of things in regards to Rose and Dirk.

And this strife was going to prove I was fucking fine.


	17. Chapter 17: Making Music

_Hey guys! _

_I'm SOOO sorry this took like a week longer than usual. I've been swamped with work, art, and fighting off my lack of inspiration. I'm terrible at fight scenes, so the strife took me forever to write. As in I didn't finish the strife scene until today…_

_As in I wrote about 11k words today._

_The whole thing is up on Archive Of Our Own, as I would rather follow 's guidelines. As in yes, this chapter has soe not safe for work material in it. Again, the whole thing is on AO3._

_This is one roller coaster of a chapter in terms of emotion. I hope I don't disappoint, and I definitely hope you can forgive my tardiness!_

_As always, Read, review and checkout my tumblr! I am constantly posting updates there in regards to the story, answering questions, and other random stuff! _

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**Chapter 17 – Making Music**

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Nothing had changed as far as I was concerned. The layout of the roof was exactly the same, my favorite sword in hand, my brother's shaded eyes staring me down from the other side as I re-familiarized myself with the feel of the handle. It wasn't very often I beat Dirk when he had strife, but today I intended to at least give him a run for his money. All that money he made from smutty shitty puppets that made absolutely no sense, but were apparently all the rage. Of course, being the ironic guy I am, I no longer had any interest in something so overplayed.

But that's getting off track there. Back to the strife.

I couldn't help but notice Dirk seemed a bit more stern than usual. Maybe because he hadn't had any good strife for a while, since Jake was a ranged fighter, being essentially useless once Dirk closed in. It definitely wasn't the same, but he had more practice than I had, considering I had none. No strifing partner, and sharp weapons were kind from banned from campus. Normal people would think I was nuts, but our family was far from normal. We liked it this way.

"You're going to be rusty as fuck. Think you stand a chance, little man?"

"I'm not so little anymore." I grinned, tossing my head back as I eyed him, sliding my shades back over my face. This for a change was not for ironic purposes, but tactical. If he couldn't see my eyes, he had less of a chance knowing where I was going to strike. Then again, past experiences was probably more than enough for him to have a general idea of how to react.

"No, you're not. But you're not much bigger either."

I simply replied to his jab by flipping him the bird and offering a grin. He turned his thumb downward to indicate where I was going, but as everyone knows by this point, I am very stubborn.

I felt my back go tense though when I heard a door opening behind me, then dared to glare over my shoulder at Jake leading Karkat up. Augh. That wasn't cool. Why did he bring him up to the roof? He looked a bit pale, Jake probably told him what we were doing, not to mention it looked like we were ready to fight. "_Jaaaaake_. The big kids are busy right now."

"Speak for yourself." Dirk chimed.

Jake laughed, showing a toothy grin that kind of reminded me of John and Jade. Strange, since I had known Jake for years and only met John and Jade three months ago. Either way, Jake had a messy head of black hair, vividly forest shaded green eyes with a sincerity in them that I knew my brother had fallen head over heels for. The whole package was complete with his love for open shirts, shorts and his tanned skin from his constant ventures outside and British accent. He put an arm around Karkat's shoulder, and I couldn't help but feel myself go tense watching. Karkat jolted a bit and gave an uncomfortable frown towards Jake, trying to brush his hand off of his shoulder.

"Don't touch me." He hissed, but Jake just smiled and nodded at him. Ever the guy who lets everything fly WAY over his head.

"Don't worry Karkat, just wanted to give you a front row seat."

"Dude. Jake. _No_." I frowned, pulling my shades down a bit to show him I was serious. This was between me and my bro. Karkat didn't need to see how serious we got.

But he simply grinned at me, and then looked back at Karkat. "This is something that takes some getting used to, Karkat. I bet you've never seen Dave fight before, have you?"

"No? Why in the ever-loving-fuck would Dave fight?" he grumbled, then looked at the swords in our hands. "With swords." He looked both uncomfortable and worried at the same time. It was odd seeing that kind of look on his face.

"Jake. Take him back downstairs." I practically ordered, hearing my brother shift in front of me. I barely glanced back at him to make sure he wasn't advancing on me, then back at Jake. "I'm serious. He doesn't need to see this."

"See what?" Karkat hissed, trying to take a step forward, but Jake held him still.

"Their brotherly bond." Jake smirked, nodding in our direction. "No secrets, Dave. That's not cool to hide your strifing from your boyfriend."

**"Dude."** I jolted, glad my shades were hiding a bit of my cheeks cause they were starting to flush. God dammit. "He's **_not_**-"

I couldn't finish as I saw a shadow move behind me. Dirk was anxious to get the party started it seemed. I hissed and spun, clashing my blade against his shitty anime replica, which surprised me how fucking strong those bastards could be. The sound of the metal scraping the metal was nothing unfamiliar to me. I ground my teeth and pushed back, trying my best to ignore the fact that Karkat was right behind me, watching us as Dirk advanced on me with his sharp blade.

I could only imagine both the look on his face and what words might be going through his head.

As the blades slid over the front of one another, we both twisted them downwards in hopes of disarming the other. Our minds thought far too much alike however, and all we did was slide past each other, hissing as we did so. I could help but cringe as I felt the cool metal slide down my forearm, leaving a long gash and cutting up my shirt nicely. Though I knew damn well without looking I caught Dirk's arm as well.

The gouges were probably very visible to Karkat and Jake. Augh. This is why I didn't want him to watch. He must have thought we were crazy.

As I spun on my heel again, I managed to block the katana aimed for my head, and the singing of metal pierced my ears again. Once upon a time I would have felt much more vibration through the blade, but my hold on it was firmer than it was when I was a child.

I was being pushed back as Dirk attacked with an entourage of swings, looking for any opening he could. I was too used to being on the defensive though, and was quick to dodge or block whatever blow he tossed towards me. Our movements were well practiced, fast, and precise. I could see blood on the pavement as he kept pushing me back, but in all honesty it didn't hurt. Neither of us. We were so used to this shit now it was pretty much a scratch.

I jolted backwards suddenly, turning to my right and running from Dirk, having him pursue me from behind. The chase was short lived as I kicked off of the edge of the building and swung towards my brother, knowing all too well he was ready for this attack. His blade clashed with mine, but I wasn't fucking done yet. No way. I twisted my body mid-air, swinging my leg around to catch him in the ribs-

_Aw shit._

I winced as he grabbed my leg with his free arm and fucking **_threw me_** over his shoulder. I tumbled backwards, rolling a bit before backwards somersaulting back to my feet, gripping the sword again. My back stung like a bitch from the pavement, but this was still nothing. We'd been in worse squabbles in the past. I kept on running, there was no stopping. It was much harder to concentrate on the fight though with Karkat watching my every move. Was he judging me? I couldn't see how he could ever accept such reckless behavior. Jake was all about action and adventure, so he had no qualms with our fights.

Karkat however was so much different.

I couldn't help but cast him an apologetic look as I rushed past him, seeing his eyes wide with panic as Jake held him still. I could only imagine what was going through his head. He'd just lost his father a month or so ago, now he was watching his friend fighting with actual sharp objects with a family member.

His head must be all kinds of screwed up right now.

Fucking hell, Jake. This is why I wanted him to stay downstairs. I could properly explain things as civilly as possible to him without him actually having to watch.

I stumbled suddenly as something ran through my mind. Why did I feel like this wasn't the first time this has happened? Kind of like Déjà vu? No, it was definitely a wave of Déjà vu. I was really fucking sure this happened before! He panicked so badly, and it took me ages to calm him down, he didn't really understand… how could he?

I skidded to a stop and looked back over my shoulder at Karkat, suddenly feeling panic pulsing through me. I didn't want that. I really didn't fucking want that! I didn't want him to hate me, I didn't want him to leave me. It felt like he did before! "Karkat-"

"**DAVE**." He yelped suddenly, that panicked look looking more prominent on his face now.

I jolted and rose my sword in time to block Dirk's blade, hissing as I saw sparks fly from the force he both used on it. Had to concentrate, I had to concentrate dammit!

I was doing this to find out what it was that Bro was so afraid of. Why did he and Rose want me to stay away from Karkat? Was this Déjà vu thing actually something that happened? Did I know Karkat when I was younger? Somehow I doubted it, I'm pretty sure I would have remembered a personality as strong as his, and he would have remembered an asshole like me.

I was going to get some God Damn answers, and I was going to win this.

I had to stop focusing on Karkat for a moment.

I could see the glint in Dirk's eye through his shades when I put my entire focus on him, blocking out everything around us. He knew I meant business now.

I braced my feet on the cement of the roof, pushing forward and pushing Dirk backward. He wasn't long swiping at me before taking a jump back, putting him on the defensive. Not something I managed to do very often. With a grunt, I shifted the weight of the sword in my hand and rushed forward, going on the offensive, feeling a chill run down my spine as I forced Dirk go defend himself.

Or at least that was the plan.

The fucker flash-stepped to the side, leaving me to run passed him. I knew an attack from behind was coming however, and pushed forward enough so I narrowly avoided the blade at my back. My foot hit the guardrail around the top of the building, launching me backwards to flip over my confused bro, armed and ready.

I landed with a thud and spun around swiftly, swinging the blade towards him and stopped at the side of his neck. I grinned when I felt the coldness of his own blade touch mine at the exact same moment, our expressions mirroring each other perfectly.

I could take a tie.

"Not too shabby, Little Man." Dirk smirked, pulling his sword from my neck, and I did the same.

"Already said, not so little anymore, Bro."

Dirk smirked and patted the top of my head, messing up my hair with this leather gloves, causing me to cringe. Augh, really? I was trying to make a good impression, and he was making me look like a child… but maybe that was the point. He gave a heavy sigh as his shoulders sagged, looking a little uncomfortable. "Talk later?"

Yeah. He knew it was coming. "Yup." Was all I said, casting him a firm look through my shades. Like fuck I was going to let him back down.

"Tch." He grunted, sheathing his sword. Neither of us were much for deep meaningful conversations, but since neither of us could let our swords do the talking, we were reduced to doing what normal people did.

Speaking of normal people…

I quickly glanced over my shoulder to see Jake letting go of a dazed Karkat. He didn't look so panicked anymore, but confused and overwhelmed. He almost looked like he was going to cry again. Augh, I hated that look on his face. He looked lost and I just wanted to make sure he never felt that way ever again. I pulled my shades off of my face, placing them on top of my head and cast him a worried look, shoving my sword into Dirk's arms. It didn't slip my notice that Dirk looked surprised at my actions, but I stopped paying attention to him at that point. Right now, Karkat was my focus.

I spun on my heel and ran carefully over to him, and I could see Jake from the side as his eyes widened at my reaction, then stepped back away from Karkat.

"_D-Dave_-" Karkat uttered nervously, but I stopped him, reaching out and grabbing his wrist before pulling him into me, then both of us to the ground on our knees. I wrapped my arms around his back and stroked it gently, feeling him tremble. It probably scared the living shit out of him. He whimpered my name again, burying his face in my shoulder and gripping the front of my shirt.

I saw the outburst coming long before it happened unfortunately, but such is the way when you were chasing the tail of Karkat Vantas.

"You fucking **IDIOT**!" he hissed, shoving me back.

"Whoa… uh…" I heard Jake jolt behind me, and my brother sounded like he stopped next to him. "Not quite the reaction I was expecting-"

"I did." I groaned, sagging my shoulders in defeat.

"**NO**. No! Shut the fuck up Dave, I'm talking and while I'm talking you'll fucking **_listen to me_**!"

"All ears, Karkitten."

"Don't you _Karkitten_ me you dumbfuck! Really? **REALLY**!? Putting on a God damn center stage tragic hero dumbass real sword play fight for the center of attention!?"

"Come again?" I said, raising an eyebrow.

"What, trying to show off some more!?"

"N-No? It's kinda… just what we do."

"Oh **THAT** explains everything! You and your brother just happen to shove fucking sharp objects into each other's hands and see how much you can slice each other up _because it's just what you do_. Everything makes perfect logical sane sense!" He was seething.

"Oh my God." I groaned, rubbing the bridge of my nose in frustration. "Right. You don't have siblings."

"I'm pretty sure this isn't _'how you treat your siblings for dummies_' filed under '_you're a fucking insane idiot_' section of the God Damn local library."

"Hey little man, chill. We're not exactly a normal-" Dirk started, but Karkat shut him off.

"Can it, cool kid number two! I'm razzing out your little brother and his crazy antics, not yours. Fuck your own crazy antics, do whatever you want!"

"Cause one, that makes a shit ton of sense. Two, _that's my bro_ dude. A little respect?"

"Fuck you and fuck your respect and fuck your arm bleeding on my fucking shirt you dense stupid idiot!"

Right, my arm. I pulled it back as he glared down at his dark grey t-shirt to see blood on it, grinding his teeth in frustration. "Great Dave, now I look like just as much of a nut job as you!"

"You're more of a nut job than me, Karkles, and you know it**- ****_OWFFFFUUUUCK_**"

Karkat had that high and mighty look on his face as he gripped my bleeding arm and made sure to dig his nails into my cut. "Sorry, I couldn't hear you over your own bleeding fucking screams and insane over bloated ego."

"Are you a fucking **_Sadist_**!?" I grinned, wincing as he tightened his grip on my cut.

"Are you a fucking _Masochist_?" he grinned.

"Well, this is all rather enlightening." Dirk said awkwardly as he stepped into my view. I frowned up at him as he cast us both a bit of a confused look. Jake was right next to him, lost on what to say.

"Fuck off, bro." I hissed dangerously.

He grinned, holding his hands up as if in surrender and backed off. "Whew. Big kid party up here. Looks like we weren't invited Jake. How about that?"

I groaned, rubbing my eyes as the pressure in my skull seemed to be traveling. I saw where this was going.

"Golly, it seems like we weren't invited, but the two old chaps seem to be getting along Quite well I must say." Jake had a weird way of seeing things. We were getting along quite well? Most people would think we hated one another.

Dirk swooped his free arm around Jake's neck, grinning at him as he look a step back, pulling him along with him. "So since we weren't invited, why don't we have a big kid party of our own?"

"Oh my God…" I groaned, looking up at the sky and hoping something would just come crashing down to end my misery right then at there. I wanted to just die of embarrassment.

"I've gotta work off the adrenaline anyways. Care to join me?" he continued.

"I say, that sounds like a splendid idea, Dirk. A good ol' tussle will work out the nerves."

"Go, just fucking go, God dammit." I yowled in my own pain, hearing Jake snicker as they headed to the door, and I only dared to open my eyes when I heard it shut, their laughing echoing as they went down the stairs.

Karkat was staring intently at me, his face about as red as my own. I couldn't help but fidget on the spot as bit before glancing away from him, running my fingers through my hair. "Let's just… stay up here for a bit. Those two get fucking loud when they go at it."

"Too much information, but for what little sanity you seem to have left and the abundance that I have left, for their sake, let's just stay put." He grumbled.

The silence that fell over us was a little overwhelming, because it felt awkward. Not because my brother and his boyfriend were probably putting on some fucking rodeo getup downstairs to save a horse and ride cowboys, but because of the fight earlier. I shifted a bit as he stared at the cement flooring beneath us, as if thinking heavily on something.

"You're mad."

"Of course I'm fucking mad." He hissed, refusing to look at me.

Sighing, I looked back up at the sky for the meteor I had been waiting for to crush me, but it still wasn't coming, so I supposed I had to start talking. "I don't really know how to explain it, Karkat. It's just something we've done all of our lives. We have trouble finding words with each other, so we speak through strife."

"By cutting into one another." His eyes fell at my still bleeding arm, but I simply shrugged, not bothering to hide it. It wasn't deep after all, just an annoyance.

"I know it doesn't look good."

"You could kill each other." He glared. "I saw how hard to were swinging those things."

"We probably could, I guess, but we never have. We know our limits. And actually I'm thankful that my bro taught me how to fight from the get go. It's made me a stronger person."

Karkat glared and jerked back, standing up and walking towards the railing. "Great. Testosterone central. You're a real fucking charmer." He hissed as he leaned against it, staring at the city around us.

I was quick to jump to my feet though, following right behind him. I didn't like being subtle about things, and the fact that I hadn't told him how I felt about him yet was wearing down on me, but I knew that now still wasn't the right time. I could always hint in certain ways, and show him. I leaned over him from behind, wrapped my arms around his waist and pulled him close to me, resting my chin on his shoulder. He glanced back at me for a moment, the annoyed glare ever so prominent, but I simply sighed, resting against his back.

"Stop taking everything at face value." I hissed, looking down at the road and pointing out a businesswoman in a black dress. "Do you see that lady down there?" I asked him. He looked down, but didn't make a sound. "She was mugged probably four times two years ago in the run of a month. Court issues, therapy, and lost a bunch of people's support because several called her out to be a liar."

"Is she?" Karkat asked skeptically as he glanced over his shoulder at me, but I shrugged. "I never saw it myself, so I don't know. That's just the thing about people. They all have a story. Each person is the main character of their own movie with one story to tell after another. A different chapter of their lives and so on and so forth."

"And?"

"My brother is a hero in his story, and he taught his little brother to be strong enough to one day be a hero as well."

"Meh." Karkat seemed to lose interest in my explanation, so I continued.

"I have the strength to protect people I care about if ever a situation arises that it would put a dark and dangerous chapter in their own story. I want to have that strength so that they can rely on me, and I can show them that I won't ever leave them like some of that woman's friends did."

Karkat went dead silent, staring down at the street as she disappeared around the corner. It wasn't often I made him speechless, but it seemed like it worked. The words sunk into his head before he relaxed against the railing and shook his head. "You're infuriating, you know that, right?"

"I try." I laughed. I heard a bit of a huff come from his lips, almost as if he was holding back a chuckle as well, but nothing more.

At least not until we cringed at the cries coming from the floor below us and the terrible realization that my bro left his window open.

* * *

Rose came home and brought Kanaya with her. Rose wouldn't cease trying to bug the living shit out of me while Kanaya was much more supportive and gentle with Karkat. Rose had her own twisted ways of irony that didn't quite fit mine, and did her best to get under my skin.

And get under my skin she did.

I had opted to simply ignore her jabs at me as much as possible, but also tried to carefully pry information away from her in regards to her trying to set me up with Terezi. Rose, ever the that, did not budge, and I figured that might be the way of it. She was a hard one to get through. Ironically talking to my brother was easier than talking to her.

"So." Rose mused as we sat in the living room, waiting for Jake to finish cooking dinner. "What possessed you to bring your friend with you?"

I glowered at her; she was treading in deep water. "Cause I can. Karkat was going to be stuck at school otherwise."

She folded her arms across her chest, looking both inquisitive and smug at the same time. "Why didn't you invite Terezi? You and her click so well, Davey. She never stops talking about you."

I ground my teeth in annoyance, and saw Karkat cast a glance to me. I'm pretty sure he was thinking the same thing. All I told him was that she probably had family she wanted to hang with. Karkat didn't even know we were fake dating. I was sure Rose didn't either, but it was always so hard to tell with her. Maybe she did know, and her bringing this up was-

No no… I had to stop thinking that way. Rose could be a real headache sometimes, but she usually didn't act so outrageous. Bringing up sore topics to keep me apart from Karkat as some sort of deep underlying plot didn't seem plausible.

At least not entirely.

"Pretty sure it's a one person invite only." I shrugged. "And as I said, Karkat had no place to go. Terezi did."

"Almost sounds like you like your friend more than your girlfriend." She smirked.

I popped open my mouth to retort, but decided against it. I wanted to tell her how right she was, but I couldn't. Terezi was Karkat's friend, and as far as he knew, she was my girlfriend. I rubbed my eyes in clear frustration as I heard Karkat clear his throat.

"I'm just gunna go change. Since Dave bled all over my fucking shirt."

"Pft. Rude, little bro." Rose smirked.

"Stop, just stop." I groaned as I heard Karkat excuse himself. I heard the padding of his feet upstairs and finally felt the tension in the air become a little more overwhelming than it should have. I wanted answers, Rose wanted answers. Now that the person in question was gone, we could talk about it. "Okay, what the fuck is your problem?"

"I don't have any problem." She shrugged, leaning her back against Kanaya's shoulder.

"Ooooh. Ego central. Aren't we such a fucking grown up."

"You certainly act the part yourself, Davey."

"Stop that." I hissed, sitting up straight and glaring at her. "What is going on?"

She blinked, then cast a look to her girlfriend behind her who simply rose an eyebrow, as if neither of them had any blind freaking clue as to what I was talking about. But I knew they both knew, and so did Dirk… Dirk who was passed out upstairs from his earlier endeavor and asked us to wake him when dinner was ready. "Honestly, that's kind of what I want to know?" she said, cocking an eyebrow before sitting forward and frowning at me. "You're being a terrible boyfriend, Dave. Blowing off your girlfriend for your best friend, and treating him so much better, too."

"Oh**_, bullshit_** Rose. You know as well as I do that Terezi is **_not_** my girlfriend." I hissed. I was tired of this annoying as fuck pow wow around the subject and was ready to dive right into the problem and make them shut the fuck up.

Rose turned her nose upright, again looking smug, but disappointed. Kanaya on the other hand narrowed her eyes, leaning forward. "Are you saying you're _using _her?"

"Oh my fuck." I grumbled, running a hand through my hair at Kanaya's simple, but striking words. "No. Fucking no. If anything, **you** are using me, and so is Terezi!"

"Quite the accusation." Rose glowered as she sat up, arms tight as ever across her chest. She was looking just as annoyed as I felt. "What makes you think any of the garbage you're spitting out at me here is even true?"

"You told Terezi that we made a cute couple."

"And you do… or did. Or I thought you did. Little brother, I'm kind of disappointed in you."

"I'm about ready to pull a sock off of my foot and jam it in your throat, Rose."

"Scary, scary," she shrugged.

"Terezi told me that you said you'd be happy if we got together." I pointed at her. She had nothing to say, she simply stared. "I don't feel that way about her, and she knows that. We agreed to some sort of fake dating bullshit. It got you and Dirk off my back, keeps some creeps from her class from hitting on her, and people to stop bugging her about it as well. We're faking it to shut everyone the fuck up." I glared in her direction, seeing the slightest twinge of her lip. She wasn't happy, I was seeing right through her act and putting her on the spot. "So? Why is it so important that I date Terezi-"

"Dave. Let me ask the questions before I can answer yours." She sighed, glancing back at Kanaya and nodding. Then she looked at me so seriously, I wasn't really sure how to take it at first… I wasn't sure if she was just being sarcastic to hold anything against me, or legitimately serious. "Dave. Do you like Karkat?"

"Of course I do." I grumbled.

She shook her head as Kanaya folded her palms on her lap over her red skirt, glancing at me carefully. "What Rose means is do you feel something more for Karkat than friendship? Are you infatuated with him?"

I couldn't help but feel insulted at her question. Infatuation. Insinuating that I was attracted and not really feeling what I was feeling for him. Bro suggested it some time back as well, when he suggested I distract myself from it, thus me fake dating Terezi. Urgh. What a mess. I gripped what fabric I could on my skinny jeans, frowning at both of them. "Yes and no. I feel more than friendship, but I don't think I'm simply infatuated if you are suggesting I'm blind as a fucking bat."

"Dave-"

"No Rose. Stop, just stop." I said, standing up and staring down at them both. "I'm no infatuated, I don't like Terezi that way even though she's probably one of the best friends I could ask for, and I feel like a real dick for not being able to reciprocate her feelings. I like him. A lot." They fell silent as they stared at me, but I waved my hands around. "There, I fucking said it. I like Karkat Vantas. I want to hold him and make sure he doesn't have any reason to cry again. I want to take care of him and be the reason he smiles, and that is a feat, believe me. I am attracted, both emotionally and physically to a guy. Ladies, you've heard it first. Apparently I'm gay, or bi-curious or maybe just Karkat-sexual, who the fuck knows. But I want him in my life and that's all there fucking is to it."

"_Do you love him_?" Rose asked quickly, and I felt the air get caught in my throat.

Did I? Did I care enough that it treaded into those reddened waters? Was it beyond caring and lust? Beyond desire?

…

"Yes." I said finally, clenching my fists and looking down at her. "**_I do_**." She looked a bit surprised with my answer, as did Kanaya. "There. I said it. Happy now, Miss Councilor one-oh-one? Or do I need to have a deep meaningful conversation about why this is wrong in all but 13 states? Isn't that a little hypocritical of both you AND Dirk?"

"Dave, calm down a second." Kanaya said firmly, gripping Rose's shoulder. What right did they have to judge me?

"I am calm." I frowned, crossing my arms. "Just really annoyed."

"So are you going to let me explain myself? Or are you just going to have a 5 year old temper tantrum?"

I rolled my eyes. "Listening."

"Are you absolutely sure that you feel this way about him? You've only known him, what. Three months?"

"How long did you know Kanaya, Rose?"

"The clear difference between your situation and our situation is that Rose has known most of her life that she's gender blind. She likes people and doesn't limit herself to love simply because we're the same gender." The girlfriend spoke up, leaning her chin on Rose's shoulder. Okay, they had a bit of a point there, but honestly, I was damn sure of myself. I'd never felt so high about someone before, like I was meant to be there specifically for them. Karkat made me feel that way, as cheesy and ridiculous as that sounded in my own brain.

"I know…" I groaned and found my forehead in my palm. "Okay, okay, I get it. You're concerned. Though I'm pretty sure I'm old enough to be able to know that I've never felt this strongly about someone before. Apparently it runs in the family or some bullshit because the once completely straight Dave Strider is in love with probably the most annoying guy in my class. He's annoying, he's loud, he can be a smartass and gets a high off of insulting you but when I get past that defensive wall he puts up and see what's underneath, it's like I get a glimpse of. I dunno. Something perfect? Soul mates? Whatever the fuck you wanna call it, I don't know." I shook my head and cast Rose a pleading look.

"Look, I understand. It's not fucking easy, it's a big change, and you know as well as I do it's not a decision. I didn't just wake up one morning and say 'Hey, I think I'm going to like Karkat Vantas from now on, even though I'm straight as a god damn ruler'. I've had a lot of time to struggle through this and Jade finally broke down my own wall enough that I was able to accept and realize it myself." I sighed, but placed a hand on my chest, trying to show her how sincere I was in this stand. "I'm ready to take it head on. Even with my feelings, someone else hasn't been all that open to receiving them… so why does it matter? I feel for him…"

My gaze lowered to the floor, suddenly my mouth feeling like sandpaper. It felt empty in a way, and I didn't mean just cause my stomach was rumbling up a storm since I was fucking starved. "… but he doesn't feel for me back." I took a deep breath and looked at the girls, who seemed to be studying me carefully. "So in the end, why does it matter?" I said, rolling my shoulders as if I was shrugging off the issue at hand.

They were both still for a moment, but Kanaya finally offered Rose a nod. My sister stood up from the couch and walked over to me, casting me a skeptical look, before reaching out and putting her arms around me. It was weird. I couldn't remember the last time Rose and I hugged. "You probably won't ever hear this from me again Dave, so listen carefully." Rose said quietly and she squeezed me. "We do care about you, and want the best for you. We're simply worried about you, and want you to… be careful."

That was a weird way to put it. How was my sudden attraction for Karkat something that could be dangerous? Maybe it was from Karkat's mouth and attitude, they were worried I was getting mixed in with the wrong person. That had to of been it. I sighed and pat her back, rolling my shoulders. "He's a better person than he lets on, Rose."

"I know." She said, letting go and shrugging. "Just the same, it needs to be said." She muttered before giving me a shove, landing my ass down on the couch again. She cast me a bit of a grin before looking past me, a smirk appearing on her features. "Oh, Hello. How long have you been standing there?"

I felt my blood run cold as I sun around on the couch, seeing Karkat on the stairs, looking at us as if he'd just seen a ghost. Shit. Shit _shit shit_ **_shit _****_shit_**! How long **WAS** he there!? I felt my stomach drop to the depths of hell, no poker face could save me now. His eyes were wide, putting his gaze between me, Kanaya, and Rose. Finally, he pursed his once ajar lips together, dropping his hands at his side. I wasn't sure what to make of his body language or his expression. Suppressed? Was he attempting to poker face through it?

**Fuck**. I really fucked up. It did not take long to change a _fucking shirt_.

"Not long." He muttered. I didn't believe him for a second. I felt my shoulders sag, feeling ashamed of myself suddenly. "Long enough to see some weird sibling make-outs happening. Dude, I'm going to tell Terezi." He scoffed.

I didn't reply, I couldn't. It was like my mouth was wired shut from the inside, I just wanted to crawl into a mouse hole and die. He heard me, I knew he fucking heard me say it. He had to of, there was no way, I wasn't careful enough.

Shit, I was starting to panic, I could feel it.

I did my best to frown, then reached up and pulled my shades over my eyes, doing my best to hide myself from him. I could see him raise an eyebrow at me from the other side, looking a little more annoyed. I knew he didn't like it when I hid my face, but I couldn't help it. Whatever chance I might have had was long gone at this point. Fuck, fuckity fuck.

Trying my best to save myself, I wrapped my arms behind my head and flopped on the couch, grumbling. "I'm out. Wake me when dinner is ready."

"Dave-" Rose started, but I cut her off.

"Rose, please. Just let me sleep it off. Okay?"

She frowned at me, then looked up at Karkat, she looked determined to say something, but I reached out and snatched her wrist. Karkat couldn't see my face since the back of the couch was facing him, so I gave her a serious look through my shades and gently shook my head. I did not want her talking to him. I didn't want her to offer explanations, try and make it better, or try and make it worse. I dug my own fucking grave at this point and would claw my way out. I just needed to calm the fuck down first and find out what all he heard later. I could manage that.

Rose sighed, pulling her wrist away from me before smiling up at Karkat. "You like books, don't you Karkat? I have a few light romance novels you might be interested in if you wanna read to pass the time."

"Sure, I guess." He sounded kind of gloomy. I clenched my eyes shut as I heard them go back upstairs, pulling the throw pillow over my head.

_I was a fucking idiot. _

* * *

Of course I didn't sleep. The entire time my mind was writhing in possibilities and the lack of them now that my cover was blown. I knew he knew, he had to have known. What was going through his head? Maybe he was mad because I wasn't really dating Terezi and was scared I was going to hurt her feelings. Maybe he felt repulsed by the idea that I had feelings for him and thought me being nice to him was because I wanted to get in his pants or something.

Sure I did, but I wanted him to be willing. And it was going to be awkward as fuck considering I'd spent my life ogling breasts.

But that wasn't the only reason I was nice to him. Fuck, I cared about him. I said it to Rose, I loved him.

I loved him…

And that hurt far worse than the scabbed over cut down my arm, or any of the other injuries I sustained over the years. And I had some pretty nasty injuries.

My mind was a jigsaw puzzle mess right now. How was I going to cope with this? He was going to push me away again, but this time he wasn't going to come back, I knew it. Shit shit shit shit shit. I wished I never talked to rose about it, it would make everything so much better. It wouldn't have come out, and I could have said something alter down the road, if I ever felt that he might possibly feel the same thing.

Down the fucking drain.

"Hey buddy." I heard from behind me, grimacing at the heavy British accent, glancing behind me to see both Dirk and Jake smiling down at me. "Dinner's ready!" Jake chimed as merrily as he could, proud of his endeavor.

I felt my heart sink more. It meant I had to sit next to Karkat and be social at the table. This was a weird way for everything to come out, and far too soon for my liking. I pursed my lips and looked to Jake worriedly. "You sure? I hear turkeys take a ridiculous amount of time to cook. The dressing has to be just right, and you know it. Dirk won't settle for-"

Dirk rolled his eyes and reached over the couch, grabbing my shirt and pulling me over the other side. I had no choice but to get my feet on the ground as I was going to be drug there whether I liked it or not. I fumbled to get my shades back over my eyes, but Dirk reached out and snatched them from me. "Ah-ah." He tutted, pulling his own shades and hat off for a change, setting them on side table in the hallway. "You know the rules. No shades or hats at formal family dinners. It's been a rule for years, bro."

"Can we have one exception? None of us are dressed up."

"You're awfully fussy today." Dirk said, almost sounding like he was questioning it. "Everything alright, little man?"

I sighed, looking towards the dining room where I saw Karkat sitting himself at the table, propping his cheek up with his fist and elbow, looking bored and lost. I slumped a bit, casting Dirk a pleading look, but he didn't budge. Another sigh. "Peachy."

"Then hop to it." He said, giving me a harsh shove in the dining room where I bumped into the table, catching Kanaya's, Rose's and Karkat's attention. I simply blinked before raising a hand in the air and giving the sternest look I could muster at the moment, thumb curled in. "How."

And it earned me a smack across the back of the head via Rose. I saw it coming from a mile away, mind you, but still. I gave a bit of a chuckle, and then slowly found my seat next to Karkat. He hesitated then looked at me curiously, I could see him from the corner of my eye. I was trying hard not to make eye contact with him, but it was difficult when that's all I ever wanted to do was to look in his red and amber flecked brown eyes. "You alright, Dave?" He asked quietly, much to my surprise.

I held my breath a second before I dared a glance at him, and he was staring intently at me. I looked confused… did he… not hear the whole thing? I was certain he had, but with the way he was looking at me now, wallowing in my misery, it felt like maybe he could have possibly not? I gave a bit of a nod, watching him blink at me, then raise an eyebrow skeptically. "You're lying-"

He started to start an argument, but Dirk gently smacked the side of his cheek much to my eternal thankfulness. Karkat glared at my bro while he simply smirked in his direction, waggling his finger. "No arguments at the Thanksgiving table."

"What, you bring out a special table for Thanksgiving?" Karkat mused, earning a snicker from Rose and Kanaya.

Dirk blinked, then shrugged quickly. "Nice one." He said pointing to Karkat, probably taking it as irony. Well, I had to hand it to him, it wasn't bad. "But it's time to be thankful and all that other bullshit. Not to get snarky with each other and breathe down each other's necks." He rolled his shoulders as he took his spot at the table, Jake hurrying out of the kitchen with the Turkey and setting it in the middle of the table. It looked the same as always, fucking perfect somehow. How this guy managed so well on his own, I guess I would never know.

He took a quick seat next to Dirk, beaming up at him like the puppy dog he could be. Well trained and always looking for praise. Dirk simply smiled at him and rubbed the top of his head as if he was the house pet before stroking his cheek. Normally I would ask to be excused while I lost my pre-dinner, but now I didn't seem to mind it. Probably because essentially it was because I was getting used to it, and of course my feelings had changed since our last formal dinner. "You did wonderful, Jake." Dirk smiled, a rare expression on his features.

Jake simply beamed back at him, giving a nervous laugh before they grasped each other's hands. He turned and offered his tanned hand to me, leaving me to stare at it for a second. I bit my bottom lip, carefully grasping his hand, seeing Rose and Kanaya join the link through Dirk, and Kanaya linking with Karkat. He passed and looked at me oddly for a second, but all I could do was offer a shrug. "Tradition." Was all I said.

His eyebrow twitched up oddly for a second before I offered my palm out to him, watching him hesitate. I could feel my bro's eyes glued on us, only putting me on the spot more. However after a slight moment of hesitation, Karkat finally extended his hand and placed it in mine. We held our hands gently, as if we were too scared of too much contact. It was awkward and yet kind of exhilarating at the same time.

"Many changes have happened in the past year, and since it is Thanksgiving, this is the time where we reflect, no matter how bad the year was, on something that we're most thankful for." Dirk grinned, casting a look to Jake. "I'm thankful I have someone who can cook more than toast."

"Hey." Jake chuckled as Dirk smirked at his sarcasm, but we all knew what he meant deep down.

"Health" Jake said with a nod, looking at Dirk with a calm smile. Dirk had had a bad scuffle one night after work to the point where he was sent to the ICU. He came around rather well, like anything would ever stop him, but it was enough to scare the living shit out of Jake.

"Family." Rose piped up, smiling first at Dirk, then giving a bit of a nod to me. She was quick to look at Kanaya however, offered her something of a seductive smile which I knew would get them deep into the sheets later. Kanaya simply returned the gesture, squeezing her hand tighter. "I _guess_ you, too." Rose ironically added.

Dirk looked to me, I always seemed to have the hardest time coming up with anything to say. Usually I said something ironic and stupid off of the top of my head. I knew what I _wanted_ to say, but I damn well couldn't. I might have been in deep enough water as it was. Saying it out loud in front of everyone would have been something that would not only throw an awkward wrench into dinner, but might have Karkat changing his flight back to college for tonight.

But I had to say _something_.

"Friends." I quickly said, squeezing Karkat's hand a bit before casting him a wary gaze. He stared hard at me for a long moment, before I felt his fingers twitch in mine. His cheeks turned rosy and he turned away. He hated being put on the spot and I knew it, but even if that's all he was, I was thankful that I had met him, and thankful he let me into his life, even if just a little.

"Alright then, fair enough." Dirk spoke up, breaking the awkward silence and grabbing the carving knife. Unlike most families, he didn't take his time carving it into perfection, but simply stabbed the bird on the table and ripped it open, much to Rose's humiliating torment and apparently Karkat's surprise. Dirk simply grinned and looked at my _friend_ and offered him a wink. "White or dark meat, kid?"

* * *

Dinner was an absolute mess. The table was practically destroyed in the chaos of everyone passing everything around, spilling things, play fighting and so on, but this is why most of the time we did not eat together at a table, it always turned into some big mess for Jake to clean up. He never seemed to mind, but I couldn't help but be embarrassed now that I had Karkat around to watch the whole ordeal unfold.

Once properly fed, I excused myself from the table, and Karkat followed suit right behind me. Dirk and Jake were doing nasty things with their mashed potatoes on their fingers and the environment became ridiculously uncomfortable at that point. Not that I didn't see it coming, this shit always happened. Welcome to my family, that's all I could say.

I made my way upstairs to my room, Karkat behind me a pace or two, letting him in before I went to shut the door. He cast me a bit of an odd look before I grimaced. "Dude, they're going to bring that shit up here again soon. Do you really want to put yourself through that again?"

"Not really." He grumbled, looking a little paler than before. I shook my head a bit before carefully shutting the door behind me, then looked behind me as Karkat scoped out my room. It was just how I left it. My computer set up, a few weapons on the walls, comics around my desk, video games and tv… and my turn tables against the wall.

Karkat noticed the turntables and was eying them.

I couldn't help but smile as I approached him, but felt a twinge of guild when he jolted at me brushing past him. He wasn't feeling very comfortable around me. It hurt, but I guess I couldn't help but expect it. I stood in front of the turntables for a second before looked back to him, offering a bit of a nervous smile. "There is where I do some mixing."

"Hi captain obvious." Karkat grumbled, frowning at me for a minute, but looked back at the tables again more curiously. "I didn't think you were musical though, Dave."

What? I'd never dropped a rhyme around Karkat before? I couldn't help but pop my jaw open a bit, before grinning and ushering him to come over. "Come here, let's have some fun."

"Wait, what?"

"Let's make some music."

His face flared up instantly. "What makes you think I even know what the fuck I'm doing, or that I even like-"

"It'll drown out the two rooms beside us which in the next half hour will probably be screaming louder than you do when you'[re threatening to lodge something up my ass."

"Beautiful picture you just painted there." He retorted, crossing and clenching his arms.

"If you enjoy the sound of ecstasy that much then-"

"Turn the fucking tables on, Dave." He hissed, throwing his fists down, and reluctantly coming over to my side. I felt myself beam only after it was in plain sight, him casting me a sour look over my victory, but his face was still crimson. I couldn't help but wonder what was going through his head.

Still, I flipped the switch on the turntable, carefully picking out a few records from the shelf, finding something not so loud and overbearing as I tended to like them, but I had a feeling Karkat wouldn't be all about the loud heavy bass as I was used to playing at the clubs with my bro. I played a record of a piano solo, added a bass beat to it, showing Karkat the different switches and what they did. He was quiet for the most part, but seemed more or less to be taking in everything I was showing him.

After a bit, he reached out and slowed the tempo I had going, then finally got his hands on the discs, mimicking my movements to try and find a sound he enjoyed. His expression was firm and concentrating, and every now and then he would ask me for a different sound, and I would either fetch it from a record, or make it with what sounds we already had going.

It was both fun and beautiful, the sounds we were producing together. It wasn't exactly what I had in mind originally, but it felt… I guess the word was deep? Like it was reaching inside of me and singing to me itself. I had to remember this combination and put it together, come up with some rhymes for it, maybe get someone to actually sing some words with it, because it wasn't coming off strongly as a rap kind of song, at least no consistently.

Words started writing themselves in my head for a chorus, but my concentration was broken when I noticed Karkat's hands stopped moving, and he was staring down at the turntables with something of a miserable look on his face. I automatically began to worry. "Sorry, you don't like it?" I said, reaching for one of the records I recently added, thinking maybe he didn't like the sound it was producing.

"No. It sounds fine." He muttered softly, gripping the edge of the table.

"Then what's the problem, Karkat?"

He frowned at the turntable, his knuckles turned white. I suddenly regretted asking what his issue was. It was an innocent question, but recalling mhy feelings from earlier, I knew now was a bad time to be asking him about his emotions. I bit my lip hard as the words came from his mouth that I knew were coming.

"**_You_**_ are_."

And that hit home. It hit home hard. I was the problem. I tore my gaze away from him and watched the turntables with hooded eyes. Dread. It was an awful feeling. I felt like I was going to be sick. "So… you heard, huh?"

"I think I missed a bit, but yeah. I caught a lot of that conversation."

I felt my shoulders sag even further. As I had thought, he heard, and he was mad about it all. "I… I see." I said quietly, so quiet in fact, he probably couldn't hear over the turntables.

He stiffened and turned towards me, biting his lip and clenching his fists. I was more than ready to be hit. He didn't need to hear that conversation, but he did, and he had every right to be mad. "So, what. Terezi is just a cover up?" I bit my lip, I didn't know what to say. It was fake dating after all, you might as well say that yes, she was a cover up. "Or, or am I just you're second fucking choice!? What, you're too straight to bother with a guy?"

"No!" I snapped, turning my head to him quickly. I didn't reach for him, as much as I wanted to. Even more so when I saw angry tears on his bottom eyelids. He was hurt. Why was he hurt? "No, Karkat, you're not a second choice. I didn't even know I fucking liked you until-" I paused, not wanting to bring up such a sensitive subject about his father's passing, so I chose a different ending that still held true. "I didn't know until Jade pointed it out to me."

He glowered, but turned his face away from me, glaring down at the turntables, still spinning and playing that beautiful melody we created together. "But you want me as your friend… and want Terezi as your girlfriend?"

"Oh my Jesus." I growled, slapping my forehead. I was sick of dancing around this subject, and now that it was being thrown in my face, I was done. This had to stop. "Terezi and I aren't **_a thing_**, Karkat!"

"Bullshit!"

"Bullshit on **YOUR** bullshit!" I hissed, frowning at him. He was so fucking stubborn. "Okay, yeah. Maybe when I first met her I would have loved to get in on some Terezi action, but she's wild. I can't physically accept being her boyfriend like that. I just want to be friends with her." Karkat huffed out a breath of air in defiance, so I continued. "Oh, for fuck sake. Everyone **WANTED** us to get together! She confessed to me like… the same fucking day you told me about her feelings."

"Cause I told her I told you."

"Whose fucking fault is **_THAT_** then!?" I slammed my hand down on the turntable, causing it to skip, but it resumed after a second. He stared at me in surprise, but I just managed to find my palm on my forehead again, running it down the front of my face. "God, she asked me to meet her and told me she liked me. I couldn't reciprocate however but she fucking **WANTED** to pretend we were-"

"She… she did **_what_**…?"

"**Fake-Dating**, Karkat. It's been a God damn lie all along." I said, waving my hand in the air, unimpressed. I stopped however when his expression looked even more hurt than before, and he rubbed his forehead again, like a killer migraine attacked the front of his skull.

"Oh my fucking God… **_please_** tell me you're kidding." He groaned.

"Am I wearing the shades, Karkat?" I asked sarcastically, frowning even more. "No, I'm dead serious. She said it was because everyone kept pushing her, she wanted a piece of me and she knew she couldn't have me, that some douche in class wouldn't lay off of her and that my sister asked her to."

He released a long breath that he'd been holding, rubbing at his head as the thoughts sank into his brain. I waited in silence for a long moment, watching him carefully for any signs of violence or retaliation. He'd known Terezi for a good portion of his life, it was only natural he'd take her side.

However, he did something completely different, and I swore the world stopped spinning for a moment.

"She did it again… so I held myself back for no fucking reason…?"

My eyes went wide. The words were hard to hear over the music, but I heard them. I was sure I heard them! "What… what did you say?" I asked nervously, leaning closer to him, bending down to his height to get a better look at his face. He stiffened, not daring to look me in the face, but down at the turntables instead. "Karkat… what do you mean by that?" I asked again.

"I…I-" he stopped, biting his lip and barely turning his gaze to me, his eyes searching, lost and hopeless looking as I searched them for the answers I wanted- no. Needed! He was quiet… the world definitely stopped turning if he was being quiet. But looking in those frustrated, lost eyes, I knew I had my answer.

"Karkat." My mouth felt dry again as my breath hitched. I couldn't believe was I was seeing reflected in those eyes I loved so much. "Do you like me?" I asked cautiously. He averted his gaze, his rosy cheeks returning as he hugged himself, trying his best not to look at my face. He tried to speak, but words didn't come out. He was being stubborn, like he always was. I needed something to confirm it, I wanted his reciprocation! So I reached up and cupped his cheek, carefully turning it towards me and his gaze slowly looked up at me, though he felt tense. He was shaking even. "Karkat… do you like me?" I asked him again, much slower this time.

Once more his eyes darted away, hooding as if he wanted to escape, never to look back on this again. I knew how he felt, I felt this way earlier. However, he decided to let his wall tumble down a little, and I almost wanted to jump for joy when he gave the tiniest of nods, swallowing a lump in his throat.

I didn't give him a chance to regret his decision to let me know. I couldn't help but let out a victorious, breathy laugh, before I took my free hand and wrapped it around the small of his back, pulling him closer to me. He gasped in surprise and I seized the opportunity like the dick I could be, pressing my mouth to his and rolling my tongue past my lips to properly taste him, no alcohol to fog our minds this time, and no excuse to tell me I had no other choice.

I did have a fucking choice, and I chose this.

The hand on his cheek held him still, then gently rubbed the warm flesh beneath the fingers. He was so tense at first, but slowly melted in my hold, his hands reaching up to grip the front of my shirt and pushed his face a little closer to mine, our tongues gently pressing against one another, but neither fighting for any sort of dominance. I pulled back only after a moment, opening my eyes to see him giving me something of a dazed look. I probably didn't look much better though, I felt like I was on cloud 9. I let out a long sigh, pressing my forehead to his, and feeling him do the same. Those walls were kicked way the fuck down, and I wasn't letting them go back up. Not for either of us. Fuck that, he liked me.

_And I loved him._

"How long…?" he asked, refusing to make eye contact, and I felt myself stiffen. My mind went back to when the problem first arose, before I accepted my feelings. When I first found myself going crazy anytime I thought of him, or remembered seeing him showering… back to when I thought he'd fallen in the shower, and went to see if he was okay. Back to those feelings of embarrassment and guilt as I watched him masturbate relentlessly in the public shower.

I felt the blood start to move in a different direction from the memories, to my head. Actually, both of them. I averted my gaze from him shamefully, my breath hitching again. "It's… uhm." I stumbled over my words, catching Karkat's attention.

"Wow… Dave Strider at a loss for words." Karkat mused, sounding sarcastic again. I twitched a bit, but refused to look him in the eyes. I grunted, pulling back only a bit to look over to my bed, my head swimming with an overflow of emotions, and the sudden lack of proper blood flow to the brain. I walked over, carefully holding Karkat's hand as I did so and pushed myself on it, leaning against the wall. Karkat sat next to me, but turned to face me head on. He was damn curious now, and I knew it. "How long, Dave?"

"Does it really matter?"

"It's… kind of important." He muttered, glancing away.

Fuck. I sighed. "Please don't get mad."

"You realize no one should ever start a conversation that way, right?"

"The conversation was already started. Therefore that fact is null and void."

"I wonder if I'll beg to differ in a minute. Spit it out, Strider." He grumbled, crossing his arms again, that stubborn frown returning to his slightly flushed cheeks.

I took a deep breath, staring up at the black ceiling above me, trying to think of the best words to choose, but it didn't seem like there was any appropriate way to bring it up without dodging the exact time. "Well, I knew for sure I liked you when I stayed over at your dorm the second time… uh… the first time on purpose I guess." I said with a bit of a shrug.

"Okay… and? You had suspicions before?"

"You're a real tooth puller, you know that?" I grumbled.

"Naturally. Continue." He demanded.

"Well… after the whole party at Vriska's thing, I didn't think a lot of it." I said, seeing his shoulders sag a bit. "But when you tried to push me away after that, there was gym class…" I trailed off, but he stuck out his foot and kicked me a bit to continue. I swallowed the lump in my throat, feeling myself start to sweat. It was not only really embarrassing to talk about, but I was worried he'd fucking castrate me. "I heard you yelp in the shower and went to see if you were okay and you were… uhm. More than okay."

"Wait, what?" he asked, his face going pale and dropped his hands to his side.

"Yeah. You were quite occupied taming the fucking dragon under the belt and-" I swallowed, averting my gaze. "Do I really have to say it?"

"You realized it… then?" he squeaked a bit, his face a darker shade of crimson.

My shoulders rose in an attempted to hide my face, but my cool was already gone. "Congratulations Karkat… I've never been turned on by a guy before that and it fucking kept returning with relentless vengeance."

"So when you were excusing yourself from class-"

"Yup."

"And I found you on the bathroom stall floor?"

"Uh huh."

He crossed his eyes and looked down at the sheets beneath us, clenching them tightly in his own embarrassment. But hey! He wasn't mad, that was a plus! Now it meant it was time to turn the tables. "So, what about you?"

"Huh?" he snapped his head back.

"When did you realize it…?"

"Nope." He snapped, frowning at me. "Not getting an answer."

"Now that's a little unfair, don't you think?"

"Just because I like you doesn't mean I'm obligated to tell you everything."

"Dude." I sat up to pout at him a little. "I thought relationships worked in a give and take sort of way? Fifty-fifty and all that jazz?"

"… we're in a relationship?" he asked, staring at me carefully.

"I dunno. Aren't we?" I asked, returning the questioning glance to him. He watched me for a moment before turning his face away again, the crimson creeping up on his cheeks. He looked angry with himself, but just as embarrassed as I felt when I watched him. Eventually, he found his nerve and turned to me, reaching out to put his hand behind my head and pull me forward, crushing his lips to mine. He sucked gently on my bottom lip until I groaned, letting his tongue slip passed my lips and into my mouth again, swirling around each other in sheer delight.

It was short-lived however as he pulled back after a second and gave me a stern look. "Does that answer your question?"

"It sure does." Was all I managed to breathe before pulling him back to me, seeking dominance over his lips which he reluctantly let me have. Testing the softness, seeing if he liked harder kisses or soften ones, sloppy or gentle, passionate or simple. He seemed to relish in any kind of attention I gave him however, so it was hard to figure out what he liked more.

My breath hitched suddenly thought as he crawled closer to me and sat himself down in my lap. Instinctively, I lifted my legs to try and stop him, but the opposite happened and he slid down further, landing on my hidden erection. "Shit-" I hissed when I felt him press against me, and I watched the color change in his face, only an inch away from mine. He blinked twice, daring to look down and swallow. I quickly lowered my legs and pushed him back a bit, making sure he wasn't touching it anymore, feeling a bit flustered over him discovering it. "Don't worry about it." I said, looking away from him. "I'll go take care of it." I chuckled a bit, then added ironically. "I'm kinda used to it now."

He swallowed as I started to sit up, but instead reached out and pushed me back, sitting in his knees before rocking forward against it, his gaze glued to the wall to the right of me. My breath hitched as I felt the slightest amount of friction I craved, but there was something else that made me stop.

Karkat was just as hard as I was.

"Ho boy." I breathed, balling my hands into fists. I wasn't even sure how to go about this. I'd never slept with a guy before. Hell, until Karkat, I never even thought about it. Regardless, both of our bodies were reacting to one another, and it was getting fucking hot. It was hot enough in Texas as it was and this wasn't helping.

"You can go if you want to." Karkat said quietly, once more frowning at the wall next to me. "It's kind of soon to be-"

"Fuck it." I hissed, reaching out and grabbing the back of his head, pulling his face back to mine where I licked and sucked at his lips, breathing on them but never fully kissing him. I was teasing him, tormenting him, just as I always liked to do before tonight, just about other things. He groaned, reaching one hand around my neck to try and glued himself to my face, then the other tangled it's fingers in mine, clenching tightly.

* * *

_Aaaaaand I cut it off there, as it's going into M+ category. For anyone who is of age and wants to read the rest, you can find it on Archive of Our Own! Until next time, love you guys! - Archane_


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